Crunch Time - England Rugby

‘We’ve won the Championship, but the job feels half done for us at the moment.’

This week Pennyhill Park was a focused and determined place, the Championship title has been brushed aside because at this moment in time it means nothing to England's players and management. As Eddie Jones says the job feels half done and they'll only believe that they've achieved something if they take the Grand Slam on Saturday night. 

In professional sport we don’t often hear head coaches deliver definitive opinions ahead of matches, instead they share more tentative views with the outside world. However, as we witnessed at Eddie Jones' team announcement on Thursday afternoon that's not the way that the Australian works. The words 'when we beat France' were expressed loudly and clearly and it wasn't a slip of the tongue. England's head coach is clear on his viewpoint and wants his side to have the same confident mindset; 

“I think that we’re the better team and we have to believe we’re the better team. If you go into Grand Slam games thinking you’re not the better team you are going to get beaten so we have to think we are the better team and put it on the paddock. Why have we won the trophy with one game to spare? It’s not because we are inferior to the other teams. so we have to go out there and perform like that. If we can’t handle that then we’re not as good as we think we are and we have to get better.”

The selection tweaks that have been made with Danny Care and Mako Vunipola starting clearly highlight England’s game plan. England will commence the match with tempo and pace in order to defuse France’s early resistance. We’re all familiar with the French passion, it’s one of their great assets playing at home, and yet when things don’t go their way the crowd turns and heads drop. England’s ambition will be to ensure that this happens prior to half-time on Saturday and then show that they've learn the lessons from the Wales game and continue to put their foot on the gas until the final whistle. 

Of course it would be typically French for the home side to suddenly click and deliver their performance of the tournament. To date we've seen moments of hope interspersed within a great deal of disorganisation and disarray. Captain Guilhem Guirado has been the only man to emerge with any true credit but when you read their team sheet you know that if they click they'll pose a strong challenge. 

So it's clear that England have to ensure that they don’t give France an opportunity to gain any foothold in the game. Defensively Paul Gustard has them firing on all four cylinders and this test match will be as much about England’s defence as it will their attack. In my eyes there isn’t a secret ingredient to winning at the Stade de France instead a victory will come from Eddie Jones' side delivering all of the elements that we’ve seen to date. We’ve seen powerful and sturdy scrummaging, quick and efficient lineouts and physical breakdown work. We've also seen precise attack with George Ford taking it flat to the line, crisp handling and the ability of England's back three to exploit any a hint of space. In my opinion there’s absolutely no reason in the world why we shouldn’t witness all of these elements again on Saturday night. 

Of course this match has an added emotional element to it however this England side must show a steely resolve and a blinkered focus on executing their processes. If emotions are bubbling then they have to be channelled in the right manner and used positivity. For the 23-men wearing white jerseys Saturday evening has to be thought of as just another game of rugby that needs to be won and another step in their progress. 

The long and the short of it is that if England keep their wits about them, control their emotions and put their game on the park they will finish the job and end the 13-year wait for a RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam.