England vs France LIVE rugby: Six Nations latest build-up and updates as Steve Borthwick’s side face mighty challenge – UK Times

One of their sport’s richest entities? Check. Perplexing form? Bingo. A number of high-profile players struggling to hit the heights of which they are capable? Sounds familiar. Several years without the titles they crave most? Yep. A head coach pleading for patience as he builds a new team?

It always looked a horrendous start for England, with the two of the four best teams in the world back-to-back. Here’s what they need to do differently to avoid another unsuccessful Six Nations campaign:

England hope to limit Antoine Dupont’s influence on the game by taking away his time and space, aware that France’s scrum-half genius is deadly off quick ball. By their own admission that is easier said than done against a player nicknamed ‘The Martian’ by his team-mates because, in the words of lock Emmanuel Meafou, “he is not from earth”. Potentially the greatest of all time, Dupont is as complete a player as the game has seen, with his creative masterclass against Wales in round one showing he is operating at the peak of his powers.

If England are to register an upset, they need more from their bench. In four of their seven consecutive defeats to Six Nations and Rugby Championship opponents, they have failed to score a point in the final quarter, a damning statistic that reveals how ineffective their replacements have been. Action has been taken by picking Jamie George and Elliot Daly as reinforcements against France in the hope their combined 166 Test appearances can help England over the line. A week earlier in Dublin, the bench contained a combined total of only 81 caps and the superiority of Ireland in this area was decisive – a fact not lost on Borthwick.

France are strong favourites to storm Twickenham and continue their march to a title showdown with Ireland in Dublin on March 8. It is hard to look beyond an away win after Les Bleus crushed Wales in round one, the night before England faded out of contention at the Aviva Stadium. A year ago only a late penalty denied Borthwick’s men in Lyon, yet the scars of 2023 when France inflicted a record 53-10 defeat at Twickenham still remain. England have avoided mention of one of the darkest days in their rugby history at all costs, but it casts a shadow over Saturday even if many of the protagonists have changed.

While full debutant Fin Smith has the responsibility of launching England’s backline amid the belief his skill set at fly-half will allow those around him to shine, his namesake has been given the task of setting France’s defence ablaze from full-back. Borthwick views Marcus Smith as a “game-changer”, who has the ability to “find gaps in defences that most people don’t know are there”. What is being sacrificed in aerial dominance in the backfield, Borthwick hopes will be compensated for by a unique counter-attacking threat that will be given a platform by France’s long kicking game. The experiment of playing Marcus Smith at full-back has previously delivered in flashes, including against the same opposition last year, but this will be its greatest test yet.

It will be another proud day for Maro Itoje today as he leads England out at Twickenham for the first time, fulfilling his destiny as captain of his country, as I explored ahead of the tournament.

Maro Itoje has revealed that he turned down lucrative offers from French club rugby due to his unfulfilled ambitions with England rugby .

Itoje leads England into Saturday’s crunch Six Nations clash at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham satisfied that his decision to commit to Saracens in January last year, amid offers from Lyon and Toulon, was the right call.

“The reason I didn’t pursue that is because I wanted to play for England. I felt like my time in an England shirt was not quite done yet,” said Itoje, who is one of 17 players on an enhanced contract with the Rugby Football Union.

“In my heart of hearts, I would have been looking at England playing from across the Channel and I wouldn’t have been at peace with the decision.

“There are a whole load of different factors one can use to determine whether you stay here or go there but, for me, I felt if I went it would have been a bit premature if I went at that time.”

Antoine Dupont is delighted he will not be facing Toulouse team-mate Jack Willis on Saturday in comments that call into question England’s refusal to pick overseas-based players.

Dupont leads France into their Guinness Six Nations showdown at Allianz Stadium where he will be looking to kill off the hosts’ title aspirations by clinching a fourth successive victory in the fixture.

The world’s best player believes the goal has been made easier by England’s rule of only selecting players from the Gallagher Premiership, denying them access to the likes of Joe Marchant, Henry Arundell and Willis.

Eddie Jones will once again be on punditry duties for ITV this afternoon after a slightly disappointing debut from the former England boss in Dublin last week. Here is who else you can expect to see and hear across the tournament: