England vs France predictions, betting tips and odds: Les Bleus hold the attacking edge

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Where to watch England vs France 

You can watch England vs France on ITV1 at 4.45pm on Saturday, February 8

England vs France best bet

France -6
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England vs France predictions

France thrashed Wales 43-0 in their Six Nations opener last week and ran out 53-10 winners the last time they visited Twickenham, so it might have been expected that England would don their tin hats and man the defences when they take on Les Bleus on Saturday afternoon.

But England coach Steve Borthwick looks as if he is preparing to fight fire with fire and has shuffled his starting line-up, shifting fly-half Marcus Smith to full-back and giving Fin Smith his first start in the number ten shirt.

That change would appear to be made to counter France’s exceptional kicking game. They like to kick deep and keep opponents penned back, as they did to great effect in the win over Wales, but it means those kicks are rarely contested and can allow better teams space to counter-attack.

By having two playmakers in tandem at the back, Borthwick probably hopes to find some space against a heavy French pack, but it’s an untested gameplan and looks to be something of a gamble.

Pairing Fin Smith with clubmate Alex Mitchell at scrum-half, and with Northampton players on both wings in Tommy Freeman and Ollie Sleightholme, may well boost England’s attacking cohesion but they still look some way short of France’s attacking powers.

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Last week’s win over Wales underlined how much France missed Antoine Dupont last spring as the Toulouse scrum-half put on something of a masterclass. Dupont combines great physical strength, a dazzling turn of foot and an eye for a gap with a kicking game that means France so often control territory to stay on top.

Fly-half Romain Ntamack, the other half of France’s dynamic duo, is suspended but replacement Mathieu Jalibert steps back into the role he filled at the last Rugby World Cup, when Les Bleus beat New Zealand and were edged out by champions South Africa by one point in the quarter-final.

And France are further boosted by the return of Damian Penaud from injury. The Bordeaux winger has an outstanding record of 36 tries in 54 Tests and was top scorer in the 2023 tournament.

England’s defence impressed in the first half against Ireland and they pushed up quickly to stifle Ireland’s runners, but a number of missed tackles hurt them in the second half and given the trickery of Dupont and other French backs there is a real possibility that the England tacklers can be caught out if they fly off the defensive line too quickly.

France have won four of the last six meetings, while a weakened team drew 19-19 in the Autumn Nations Cup final at Twickenham in 2020. They should arrive full of confidence and can power to a comfortable win.

England vs France  team line-ups

England: Marcus Smith; Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Ollie Sleightholme; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Tom Curry, Ben Earl, Tom Willis. 

Replacements: Jamie George, Fin Baxter, Joe Heyes, Ollie Chessum, Chandler Cunningham-South, Ben Curry, Harry Randall, Elliot Daly.

France: Thomas Ramos; Damien Penaud, Pierre-Louis Barrassi, Yoram Moefana, Louis Bielle-Biarrey; Mathieu Jalibert, Antoine Dupont; Jean-Baptiste Gros, Peato Mauvaka, Uini Atonio, Alexandre Roumat, Emmanuel Meafou, Francois Cros, Paul Boudehent, Gregory Alldritt.

Replacements: Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille, Georges-Henri Colombe, Hugo Auradou, Mickael Guillard, Oscar Jegou, Nolann Le Garrec, Emilien Gailleton.

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Read more on the Six Nations . . .

2025 Six Nations predictions betting tips and odds: France to leave hat-trick contenders Ireland feeling blue 

Six Nations: France stars Bielle-Biarrey and Dupont tipped for individual honours

Italy vs Wales predictions, betting tips and odds: expect a tight clash in Wooden Spoon showdown 

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