‘It’ll be special’: England and France bring local battle to World Cup stage

They may be in Whangarei, the most northerly large town in New Zealand, but it remains the most familiar of European rugby disputes. “Le Crunch,” murmurs England’s second row forward Abbie Ward, her tone reminiscent of a James Bond villain greeting an old adversary. “We know how tough it is every single time we play against France. We’ve played them more often than any other team in the world. We know them and they know us.”

Perhaps the keynote pool fixture of this World Cup also looms. The tournament needs a crackling, top-class contest to whet neutral appetites for what is to follow in the knockout stages. It is not impossible, either, that these two teams could have another rendezvous next month, which further explains the desire of England’s forwards to deliver a no-nonsense message of intent.

After 26 straight international victories and having just stuck 14 tries on Fiji in their opening game, it might be imagined the Red Roses have little left to prove in the above regard. Champion sides, though, instinctively sense when it is time to step up a gear and captain Sarah Hunter – about to equal Rocky Clark’s Test record of 137 caps – and her squad have had this particular date ringed in their diaries for months.

Small wonder their head coach, Simon Middleton, has opted for the most experienced of starting packs, one which contains a whopping 545 caps in total. Only two of the eight do not have more than 50 caps and the least experienced individual, Zoe Aldcroft, is the current World Player of the Year. There is collectively solid and then there is the teak-tough, hyper-competitive English ensemble.

Ward, 29, is a crucial cog in the Red Roses machine as the main lineout caller, happy to describe herself as a “nause”