The XV of France travels to London to play the title and the Grand Slam against England on Saturday.
This is the final of this 2023 Tournament. After an almost perfect competition, the XV of France is aiming for the Grand Slam on the lawn of Twickenham, Saturday April 29 (live on France 2 and france.tv at 2 p.m.). In the position of outsider, the Blue will try to finally reverse the trend and put their hands on the trophy for the first time since 2018.
The trust capital for the Red Roses
A real mountain. At Twickenham, the France team faces its pet peeve of the past four years. It remains in effect on nine defeats in a row against the Red Roses. During their final opposition, in the group stage of the World Cup in the fall of 2022, the English had won a narrow victory (13-7).
This one-sided history should necessarily inspire the locals. “The English will arrive as favorites, thanks to the series of victories they have garnered against the Blue”, Judge Laura Di Muzio, former international and France Télévisions consultant. “They will have this capital of confidence which is necessarily important when you start.” They will also be able to rely on the support of more than 50,000 spectators, a record in the history of the Tournament, ready to push to final victory.
The dynamic: the Blues are gaining momentum
The French will be able to rely on their good progress since the start of the Tournament. After the sluggish (and not improved) victory in Italy, the players of Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz raised their level. “France has gained momentum, with a complicated start against Italy […] Then the last two games were really very convincing, with free play.”says Laura Di Muzio.
On the contrary, England started strong and haven’t impressed as much since. “The English, as they went on, suffered a few injuries, had difficulty getting rid of certain opponents, even if the scores were final”, explains our consultant. In their last game against Ireland, the Red Roses struggled to widen the gap in the second half, as they usually do, and only scored in the final ten minutes. “Maybe it’s the best time to pick them”advances Laura Di Muzio.
The physical challenge: the power of the English pack
Among their strengths, the Red Roses have a very solid forward pack (705 kg), which carries part of the game, and which is very effective on the sidelines and in the mauls. A force embodied by the third line and captain Marlie Packer, best scorer of points (30) and tests (6) of this team. “We will have to be wary of this physical density and this conquest, it is really their strength”decrypts Laura Di Muzio.
A physical challenge to which the Blues will have to respond seriously. To hold the shock, the French staff chose to make a change by line at the front, with the entries of Rose Bernadou, Manae Feleu and Axelle Berthoumieu in the fifteen. “We have the ability to put rhythm and volume”assured David Ortiz at a press conference. “The composition, we did it for us, so that we can keep the level of play as sustained as possible over 80 minutes.”
Kicking as a justice of the peace?
The Crunch could also be played on foot, one of the few areas where the Red Roses have shown signs of weakness since the start of the competition. With only 19 trials converted out of their 39 registered, they are running at less than 50% success in the exercise. In the absence of the historic scorers injured, Lagi Tuima suffered against the poles. But she was relieved by the return of Helena Rowland, who entered against Ireland, started in number 13 against the Blues and who could take charge of the kicks.
With 14 past transformations out of 27, the Blues are not much more successful against the posts. Jessy Trémoulière, positioned at the opening for the last match of her career, will have to draw inspiration from her very good start to the match on foot against the Welsh (first 3 tries converted). If necessary, Carla Arbez could also kick off the bench.