It has been clear over the past two years that France are a team on the up as we head towards their home World Cup next year.
But so far, they have nothing tangible to show for their progress and the beautiful rugby they have been playing. Yes, they have beaten the All Blacks and won every game so far in this Six Nations, but they are yet to win the title that serves notice that they are contenders for rugby’s biggest prize in 2023.
Tomorrow, against England in Paris, they have the chance to change that, with their first Six Nations title since the Grand Slam of 2010. Many England fans — myself included — feel their side guilty of under-achieving: for France to have to wait 12 years between titles is criminal.
They have been the game’s sleeping giants. For so many years, the rest of the game has thought that if France can get things right, there is so much to be worried about.
Their revival has been the product of a terrific generation of young players, and some very good decisions by their management, from federation president Bernard Laporte down.
He laid down the letter of the law to the powerful clubs that they had to be producing more French players. In 2019, they culled many of their squad, relentlessly backing youth. And they started selecting the right team. Back in the bad old days, you would be left scratching your head when they picked a No9 at No10 and a seven at eight.
They clearly have a good blend of coaching staff, which includes the magnificent defence coach Shaun Edwards. I know him from his time at Wasps, and can confidently assert that he is a very special man and coach.
He has won trophies wherever he has been, with Wigan in rugby league, and Wasps and Wales in rugby union. I suspect that he is about to add a title with France, too. That is if there’s space in his trophy cabinet. He has won more than 50 titles as a player and coach across the codes.
He has given France a hard edge and has an unique way of communicating — a perfect balance of head and heart — with players, who automatically respect and like him for his achievements. At some stage, I would like the RFU to remember that he is in fact English and get him coaching our national team, rather than all their close rivals one by one.
As someone who has won and lost in Paris, I understand the challenges England face tomorrow, and the emotions that will be flying their way from the stands. That run of 12 years without a title will only make that more intense. The two toughest challenges in the game are winning in New Zealand and winning in South Africa. I rate winning in France as just behind those two. The atmosphere will be different from anything they have ever faced.
For England, there are undoubtedly positives from the Ireland defeat when down to 14 men for 78 minutes. But, please, let’s not kid ourselves into thinking it was any more than a few positives.
What England showed at Twickenham was character, resilience, bravery and intensity. They are the raw ingredients, the non-negotiables of playing for England that should have been on show as much in round one as round four. For all those efforts, they were on the wrong end of a record defeat.
There was mitigation, but that is brutal, so let’s not try to paint a glossy picture: all is not well in the England camp.
Through injury, suspension, and Eddie Jones’s interesting, ballsy selection ideas — I was very surprised to see George Furbank selected in Paris, where he struggled on debut two years ago — the team have had five more changes and look a few levels beneath their outstanding opponents.
I accept that they are in transition, and short of a number of players. I also think it’s important to reserve judgment until the end of the campaign, but they still have so much to prove — especially in attack. Tomorrow, they are going to need to show all those qualities we saw against Ireland and so much more.
