Six Nations: England face being shown up by fired-up France

The final weekend of the Six Nations is a second-screen experience. Log off the phone though and fire up the calculator because the maths, as ever, could get messy.

Victory for France lands them the title.

A win for Ireland earlier in the day, brings draws and bonus points into France's equation.

Points difference may yet by Ireland's trump card.

England fans will be asking different questions though — calculations with less obvious answers and longer-term implications.

Would staying within a score of this dashing France team be a moral victory?

Is a win percentage of just over 50% over the last three Six Nations campaigns enough?

How many more beatings can England take before faith in head coach Eddie Jones is dented beyond repair?

Jones can hear the rumble over the horizon.

«Post the game those sort of discussions can be had,» he told BBC Radio 5 Live on Thursday.

«We feel like we are making good progress as a team. We would prefer to be playing for the title, but we are not, but we feel the team is making good progress.»

It can only be «feeling». The numbers are not there.

England could wind up on Sunday evening with a second successive fifth-place finish for the first time in Six Nations history.

They would need to score five tries against France to equal even last year's meagre total of 12.

There have been glimpses of what might be. England have given hints at their backline sparkle and coalface spirit over the past year.

When Freddie Steward carved to the line against Australia in the autumn, we saw how the attack could work.

When 14 men's bloody-mindedness made up the numbers against Ireland last week, the talk of a new level of team unity rang true.

But moments are for showreels. Tournaments reveal teams. The Six Nations is a