Six Nations

England focused on having their own party

by
Ben Jaycock
17 March 2022

Eddie Jones urged his troops to remain focused on the job, not the occasion, as he made five changes for their trip to Paris against Grand Slam-chasing France.

The biggest surprise in Jones’ team was George Furbank coming it at full-back, returning to the stadium where he made his debut in 2020 to push Freddie Steward to the right wing, whilst elsewhere in the backs the experienced Ben Youngs comes in for Harry Randall at scrum-half.

Sam Underhill makes his own long awaited return to England’s side at openside, in for injured Tom Curry whilst Will Stuart comes in at tight-head, with Kyle Sinckler having had limited training this week progressing through concussion return-to-play protocols.

KJJ1KE Rugby match at the Stade de France. France.

Though Jones was fully aware of the pressure on France’s shoulders in such a big contest, he was keen to turn attention to the game itself rather than France’s opportunity to win a first Grand Slam, and title, in 12 years.

Asked whether he was keen to spoil the French party, he said: “It’s more that we want to have our own party.

“If I was the French team, and we’ve been in that position, there’d be a huge amount of excitement about achieving a Grand Slam, but for us there’s a huge amount of excitement to make sure we finish the tournament strongly.

LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 13: Maro Itoje scores England’s match winning try during the Guinness Six Nations match between England and France at Twickenham Stadium on March 13, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)

“The great challenge for any human being is to stay in the moment, our ability to think ahead is what separates ourselves from any species on earth, but sport is about thinking in the moment and that’s the great challenge for any team and any individual.”

And though he was encouraged by his side’s battling performance in defeat against Ireland last Saturday, he also expected they would need to raise their game for this contest.

“It was evident for everyone to see the great spirit and tactical discipline we played with there.

“But we know we need to be better against a French team that’s probably close to their best, so we’ve been working towards that this week.

“We’ve freshened ourselves up physically and mentally, I think we’ve got good clarity of how we need to beat France, so we need to go out there and do the job.”

Written by Nick Powell