between Ben Earl and Grégory Alldritt, a duel of number 8 with opposing styles during the Crunch

During a decisive France-England match for the Blues as well as for the XV de la Rose, Saturday (9 p.m.), the French captain will face a major challenge, facing the best third center line since the start of the tournament.

He made Twickenham his garden. Named man of the match during England’s two narrow successes at home against Wales (16-14) and Ireland (23-22) in the Six Nations Tournament, Ben Earl made the talk. The number 8 of the XV de la Rose notably hovered over the meeting which deprived the XV du Trèfle of the Grand Slam on Saturday March 9. It is the captain of the French team, Grégory Alldritt, who will stand in the way of the Saracens third row, Saturday March 16 at 9 p.m. (live on France 2 and france.tv), with the ambition of containing the attacks of the English number 8, who puts together royal performances in this Tournament.

The 26-year-old flanker, repositioned in the center of the third line, is causing the offensive statistics to panic. The Englishman is by far the player who has made the most runs with the ball in hand, carrying the ball forward on 62 occasions (the second in this ranking, Aaron Wainwright, made 45 runs with the ball). “It’s phenomenal to see the way he thinks about the game, and to see how ambitious he can be as a player. He is always looking to improve“, declared his coach Steve Borthwick after the victory against Ireland.

The blue wall against the unstoppable English

A true asset, Ben Earl has no equal when it comes to moving England forward with the ball in hand. He has covered nearly 350 meters with the ball since the start of the tournament, a statistic in which full-backs generally shine. He is also the only forward present in the top 15 of this ranking, in second place, just behind Irish winger James Lowe (371 meters covered), and just ahead of Damian Penaud or Duhan Van der Merwe.

If Ben Earl is an extraordinary offensive weapon, Grégory Alldritt shines with his defensive solidity, within a blue line that is far from impermeable. With an average of 13 successful tackles per match, and more than 90% success, he is the fifth highest tackler in the Six Nations Tournament, the second in his position behind the Italian Lorenzo Cannone. “Greg came back with a lot of charisma and leadership against Wales, and we feel that he wants to fight, because he was injured. He has something under his belt, it will be interesting to see see his duel with Ben Earl”, predicts Serge Betsen to franceinfo: sport. The Englishman, in fact, is more fragile defensively, with six missed tackles since the start of the competition, and a success percentage of “only” 86%.

Grégory Alldritt is also decisive in the rucks, with three balls recovered in as many matches, which makes him the fourth best scorer in the Tournament. A statistic that is all the more telling given that he played one match less than the three men ahead of him in the standings (the Welshman Tommy Reffell, the Englishman Sam Underhill and the Italian Gianmarco Lucchesi). Going English offensive or tricolor iron defense, on Saturday, it is the hierarchy of third center lines in Europe which could be reshaped against a backdrop of Crunch.