How England can counter France’s behemoths

Clever use of replacement front rows, plus the electric passing of Alex Mitchell, will be key on Saturday evening

While morbidly fascinating, it is not easy to catalogue the mass of players. This is partly because it can be difficult to find accurate numbers, and partly because they are changing all the time anyway.
George Martin, for instance, is listed at 118kg (18st 8lb) in most online databases. Telegraph Sport understands, however, that the 22-year-old has bulked up to around 122kg (19st 3lb). After Ben Earl’s try-scoring display against Wales, the back-rower suggested that he had put on a couple of kilos during his recent lay-off following knee surgery.
Even though exact figures are elusive, England are facing a hefty France side in Lyon on Saturday night. To follow up an impressive win over Ireland, they must resist a formidable opponent. Fabien Galthié has opted to load his bench with six forwards throughout this Championship and has finally been able to unleash Emmanuel Meafou, the 145kg (22st 12lb) lock from Toulouse who combines trucking power with deft skills.
This is how England can end their Six Nations with a victory.
In a way, this match is a way for Steve Borthwick to confront any lingering demons from the World Cup semi-final loss to South Africa last year. That day, a tough and tactically diligent performance from England was undone by a spate of scrum penalties in the second half after Joe Marler, Dan Cole and George Martin had been taken off.
Tellingly, England have had at least one of Marler or Cole on the pitch throughout this Six Nations. They have achieved that by splitting their veteran props. Marler and Will Stuart started against Italy and Wales, with Cole and Ellis Genge taking over for Scotland and Ireland.
The return of the meaty Martin led to a robust set-piece effort last weekend, but France pose a problem of sheer size. Emmanuel Meafou and Uini Atonio will be putting 292kg through the tighthead side. And then Georges-Henri Colombe (142kg or 22st 5lb) and Romain Taofifénua (135kg or 21st 4lb) will come off the bench as a second humongous tighthead prop-lock combination. Those two, plus Peato Mauvaka and Sébastien Taofifénua, arrived in the 52nd minute to squeeze Wales, and helped France to rack up 25 unanswered points from 24-20 behind.
England’s maul and scrum will be challenged for the whole 80 minutes. It will be interesting to see if the visitors persist with the funky tactic of posting Ollie Chessum at No 8 for opposition put-ins. They might need him to bolster one of the props from a conventional flanker role. Tom Harrison, the England scrum coach, is sure to have concocted a plan.
Stuart is England’s heaviest player, at 132kg (20st 11lb). Starkly, France have four heavier men in Atonio, Meafou, Colombe and Romain Taufifénua. Sébastien Taofifénua, the 130kg (20st 7lb) loosehead prop, is a significant specimen as well. Size is not everything when it comes to scrummaging, but it is hardly a hindrance.
Martin and Maro Itoje lasted the entirety of the Ireland game and England have retained two back-rowers – Ethan Roots and Alex Dombrandt – on a five-three bench. Two of Martin, Itoje and Chessum will need to go the distance. And Borthwick will want Martin’s ballast for as long as possible.
All that said, the set-piece will not be an exercise in resistance. England showed line-out variety against Ireland, with Ben Earl and Sam Underhill used as surprise jumpers, and have scored first-phase tries from their scrum this Championship as well. Do watch out for the workload of Jamie George, renowned as a strong scrummaging hooker.
Theo Dan was the sole unused replacement in the World Cup semi-final five months ago. There may have been a temptation to bring in Luke Cowan-Dickie, but Dan keeps the No 16 shirt. Though relatively lightweight, the latter’s chief asset is his mobility. England might just need that at some point.
Among the old clichés attached to France was the notion that teams could run them off their feet, by exhausting their bigger players with quick line-outs, tap penalties and offloading. In fairness, Ireland did outlast Les Bleus in a fast-paced encounter last year in Dublin. But Galthié has plenty of industrious athletes. François Cros is relentless and Thibaud Flament will be better for getting through 80 minutes at the Principality Stadium. Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey thrive in broken-field situations, too.
England can still aim to stretch France in phase play and build upon their performance with the ball against Ireland. A pair of Northampton Saints will be critical. Alex Mitchell instantly improved England with his speed between rucks and his zippy distribution. That helped George Ford push flat and send runners over the gainline. The scrum-half’s running game should become influential if he spies tired defenders on the fringes. Rio Dyer’s try on Sunday came off the back of a snipe from Tomos Williams.
George Furbank is England’s second major catalyst. Kick-return was a major weapon last Sunday, leading to two tries, and the full-back embodied a fresh outlook in transition. Generally, England seemed far more alert and ambitious, willing to spread the ball wide from turnovers, too. This attitude was prevalent at Murrayfield, but errors derailed promising situations. The trend should continue, because a France side featuring unfamiliar combinations in the backline is likely to present opportunities. The mix-up between Thomas Ramos and Nicolas Depoortère for Tomos Williams’ try last time out was a prime example of a lapse in understanding.
Antoine Dupont’s absence has arguably been even more damaging than many predicted and the scrum-half’s cannon boot, which so often fired France from their own 22 way beyond the halfway line, has been a particularly big miss. Opponents have managed to get on top of the kicking exchanges and control territory.
Ireland showed the way in round one, putting boot to ball 33 times for 968 kicking metres with James Lowe especially prominent. In response, albeit handicapped by Paul Willemse’s red card and forced to come from behind, France kicked 20 times for 619 metres. That was an indication that they have moved away from what was coined as a ‘dépossession’ approach that won them the 2022 Grand Slam.
In the Ireland game, as France were teased around the pitch, their forwards looked weary. The two teams that have come within a whisker of beating them, Scotland and Italy, have also returned more kicking metres than France.
Felix Jones was part of the South Africa set-up that targeted Bielle-Biarrey with high balls in the World Cup quarter-final and Ben White’s try for Scotland came from a box-kick. Recovered contestable kicks could be the best way for England to manufacture chances. Leo Barré is sure to get a work-out in the air. Last weekend against Ireland, England only kicked 23 times. Twice, they ran into trouble around halfway and conceded jackal turnovers. The threats of Grégory Alldritt and Julien Marchand, among others, might cause them to put boot to ball more regularly. As we have seen, England now have the capacity to keep opponents guessing.
There are no specialist locks and no back-three options on Steve Borthwick’s bench, but he has picked a cohort of players capable of chasing a late try. Ethan Roots and Manu Tuilagi offer carrying punch, while the Harlequins trio of Alex Dombrandt, Danny Care and Marcus Smith come as an intrepid package. As discussed earlier, Theo Dan makes up for his lack of size with dynamism and commitment. Joe Marler and Will Stuart are his scrummaging henchmen. Fabien Galthié has greater scope to replenish his pack, which means Borthwick has to judge his own replacements cannily. That could be the difference between a gut-wrenching loss and a win that sends them towards the summer tour with more optimism.