It's Six Nations season, meaning it was only a matter of time before England head coach Eddie Jones unleashed his more tactical side as he seeks to clinch a fourth European crown.
His side won't meet title favourites France until the final round of the competition on March 19, a Stade de France face-off in Paris that could well have all the marbles at stake.
England open their competition with a Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland on February 5, and while Jones has been reluctant to talk about opponents beyond that fixture, he's made an exception for Les Blues.
Specifically, the ex-Wallabies chief shared special praise for reigning World Player of the Year Antoine Dupont, one of 10 players recently removed from France's squad having tested positive for Covid-19.
Fabien Galthie's men will be favourites to beat Italy in their curtain-raiser on February 6 regardless of whether those players feature, hoping to recover their headliners in time for the more testing fixtures to come.
“Dupont is a very good player and it’s a big call to make him captain because the nines have got a lot on their plate,” Jones said ahead of the Six Nations' opening weekend.
“But obviously head coach Fabien Galthie thinks he can handle that and it’s certainly not for me to tell him what to do. As you know, being a Frenchman, you are sitting at the top of the tree in the Six Nations, you are red-hot favourites.
“You are expected to win. If you don’t win the French rugby public’s going to be disappointed. You have shown what great depth you have got in French rugby in last year’s development tour to Australia when the results were amazing.
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“And then you have got the luxury of having 43 players in camp, so your grandmaster of French rugby, Bernard Laporte (French Rugby Federation president) has done a great job in getting the clubs to work with the French union, so you don’t have any excuses. All of that comes with a price and I’m sure Antoine is going to be able to handle it.”
Les Bleus were once regarded as the dominant force in European rugby and lifted the Six Nations five times between 2002 and 2010, including three Grand Slams.
Now almost 12 years removed from their most recent championship, the slumbering giants appears to have awoken again.
Galthie led his side to a hugely encouraging three wins from three during their November series, which comprised impressive victories over New Zealand and Argentina.
England earned plaudits of their own after completing an unbeaten autumn with wins against Tonga, Australia and South Africa, with both them and France thriving after an influx of young talents.
Jones, 61, won a Six Nations Grand Slam in 2016—his first year as England coach—and successfully defended the trophy before going on to win it for a third time in 2020.
In fact, England have won three of their seven Six Nations titles (42.8 per cent) during Jones' reign, mirroring the success they enjoyed at the turn of the century.
However, the hope borne from England's runner-up finish at the 2019 Rugby World Cup appeared drained after they finished a joint-worst fifth in last year's European tournament.
Building up to their launch at Murrayfield next month, Jones said the only team he and his squad are "worried about is Scotland," having lost at home to their border rivals last year for the first time since 1983.
Failure to avenge that defeat in Edinburgh will swiftly stub out any Grand Slam hopes and put a dampener on their tournament, but that hasn't prevented Jones from turning up the heat on France by just a few degrees.
