By Kath 6/3/07
March 24 2007

England vs France RBS Six Nations Championship 2007. Will England be served up on a platter or will they be flambeed in true French style?

England v France  

RBS Six Nations Championship 2007  -  Twickenham Sunday 11th March 3 p.m. 

England Rugby in free fall, well that is how it feels sometimes!   I cannot remember a settled England team or squad, the last settled side I feel we had was the Rugby World Cup 2003 team.    Of course we have had lots happen since that side and squad Sir abandoning ship, Andy Robinson bungling about and now we have Brian Ashton who after only three games has said the following to the players:-

"I said to the players yesterday that we are now in the second division of world rugby, and we need to get back into division one. We will be playing a division one side on Sunday".

Inspiration or what?  -  Was that It!!!

Prior to the Scotland match nobody really rated England and then a mini miracle happened, a certain Mr. Wilkinson returned and hey presto the confidence seemed to be pulsating through England again, the trusted boot was working and all was well in the world or was it?.  Alarm bells should have been ringing after the Italy match, which was not a particularly interesting display or convincing game of rugby.  In fact it was so boring, I almost fell asleep.   Next up was Ireland!   Ireland are a superb side and right on form, they played England like an Irish fiddle, knowing when to tweak the string and more importantly being very disciplined and not giving any penalties unless they were on the half way mark and even Wilko struggled to convert at that distance.   No, Ireland deserved their win they had all their buttons on them that day and played superb rugby.   England bereft of ideas, leaders, quality and class.

What actually do England have to offer against the French?  Well definitely not a settled side! Once again we have changes, eight in all  to the side that played Ireland as well as two positional changes and a new Captain Mike Catt. Head Coach Brian Ashton said he had full faith in Catt’s leadership abilities.

“Mike has done a very good job as captain for London Irish this season,” said the coach. “I have been involved with him since 1992 and, if there is any player in English rugby who knows how I want to develop the game, then it is Mike Catt.   “He is a player with a very wide range of skills, and he is a talismanic figure in many ways. He is very knowledgeable about the game, and he is excellent at talking to the players.”

Personally I actually believe Catty will do a fantastic job.  Then we have Toby Flood starting for the first time and we wish him well, as whoever wears the No10 jersey always has a hard act to follow.  Having watched Toby though I am sure he will relish this opportunity and won't let people down.  Also starting for the first time Tom Rees, again we wish him well plus we have Jason Robinson recovered from a neck injury on the wing alongside David Strettle, with Josh Lewsey moving to full-back instead of the injured Olly Morgan. I think Josh has been very quiet of late, there again he needs the ball before he can do anything!  So Let's hope he gets his share on Sunday!   Tim Payne, Julian White, Tom Palmer, Tom Rees and Nick Easter start in the pack, with Martin Corry moved to lock.

So do I feel we will win on Sunday, I wish I could sit on the fence on this one.  The truthful answer would be no but my heart is shouting yes!  Why not after all, we all know what the French are like, mind you having said that they must be licking their lips right now.  Do England have talent?  Yes I would say so but no side can win if they don't settle as a team and squad.   One or two changes maybe but this is now getting to be ridiculous, every game almost is wholesale change, sometimes you have to stick with what you have to get results and WORK AT IT!

and finally on a lighter note, may I serve this menu for you 

Looking at this Six Nations Championship in the form of a five course meal? Our starter was sublime Tatties, Neeps and Haggis, followed by Italian Sorbet, Main Course Irish Stew with England  right in it!   Now for dessert we have CREPES WITH BANANA FILLING (FLAMBÉ) Grand Marnier! Make no mistake England are now feeling the richness of all the talented ingredients and are struggling to hold it all down, the slippery banana could be the last morsel as we may not make it to the Coffee, Caerphilly and biscuits.   We may be going straight to the after dinner drinks not a port but a brandy and Benedictine French of course!  

Seriously the very best to the England Team, Squad and coaching staff this weekend.

England: 15-Josh Lewsey; 14-David Strettle, 13-Mike Tindall, 12-Mike Catt, 11-Jason Robinson; 10-Toby Flood, 9-Harry Ellis; 8-Nick Easter, 7-Tom Rees, 6-Joe Worsley, 5-Tom Palmer, 4-Martin Corry, 3-Julian White, 2-George Chuter, 1-Tim Payne.

Replacements: 16-Lee Mears, 17-Stuart Turner, 18-Louis Deacon, 19-Magnus Lund, 20-Shaun Perry, 21-Shane Geraghty, 22-Mathew Tait.

We await Les Blues Team here............... and here they are:-

France: Clement Poitrenaud; Vincent Clerc, David Marty, Yannick Jauzion, Christophe Dominici; David Skrela, Dimitri Yachvili; Olivier Milloud, Raphael Ibanez (capt), Pieter de Villiers, Lionel Nallet, Jerome Thion, Serge Betsen, Julien Bonnaire, Sebastien Chabal.

Replacements: Sebastien Bruno, Nicolas Mas, Pascal Pape, Imanol Harinordoquy, Pierre Mignoni, Lionel Beauxis, Cedric Heymans.

and so to our famous battle cry..............

I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'

Henry V (1599) Act3, Scene1