France must deal better with pressure of expectation against England

And so the Six Nations has the last tango it wanted. A packed Stade de France and a primetime television audience, a grand slam up for grabs and enough pre-match talking points to wallpaper the Louvre. Can France be stopped? Are England capable of being party-poopers? Is there any chance of Ireland sneaking up on the blindside? Regardless of the answers, “Super Saturday” will be lively.

On the evidence of the penultimate weekend’s three games, France should be feeling quietly confident as they eye a first grand slam for 12 years.

No one could accuse them of playing the house down in Cardiff on Friday night but their Shaun Edwards-marshalled defence remained firm enough to deliver a fourth win in four championship games. The tournament’s most improved defence versus a hitherto blunt-edged England attack? A mass outbreak of Covid or a fistful of red cards aside, a home win looks the likelier outcome.

There is, though, one key element no side in the competition has completely mastered as yet. How many teams, when the pressure of favouritism has materialised, have risen emphatically to it? Not Scotland, who lost in Cardiff when everyone expected them to win? Not France in Cardiff. And not Ireland, either, despite the late couple of tries that massaged the 32-15 Twickenham scoreline on Saturday.

Had Ireland, as also happened against Italy, retained their poise more consistently and not endured such a horror show at the scrums, the admirable spirit in adversity shown by England’s forwards would have sustained them for only so long. The psychology of it all is fascinating: not for the first time a side reduced to 14 men redoubled their efforts and made life awkward for a side that theoretically held all the aces.

Which is why