S
SEARCH
M
SW
/esi/1339/6_A_4_425088_0/index.html?art_id=425088&ESI

Eddie Jones: 'England will not underestimate France'

:Headline: Eddie Jones: 'England will not underestimate France': ID:425088: from db_amp
England will field a team with 813 caps, compared to just 68 for France.

England and France will collide in a giant mismatch of experience in Sunday's Autumn Nations Cup final that even Les Bleus manager Raphael Ibanez accepts can be viewed a "farce".

The 107th meeting between the rivals is the most lopsided Test in history with England fielding their most seasoned line-up of all time containing 813 caps, while France will arrive at Twickenham with a mere 68 caps.

The vast disparity in appearances is the result of constraints placed on head coach Fabien Galthie by an agreement between the French Rugby Federation and the Top 14 clubs over availability.

Each player can be picked a maximum three times across the autumn's six Tests and having relied on his front line internationals earlier in the campaign, Galthie is forced to send a shadow team to Twickenham.

It has devalued the final to the extent that Ibanez, the former France and Wasps hooker, admits "seen from abroad this final can be regarded as 'a farce'. We can understand them".

England retain 13 starters from last autumn's World Cup final in a settled side that shows just one change following last Saturday's victory over Wales, with Anthony Watson replacing the injured Jonathan Joseph on the right wing.

Yet Eddie Jones has played down the benefit of having an additional 745 caps, adding that 8/1 underdogs France – hosts of the 2023 World Cup – must be respected.

"It's no advantage. They've got a squad in place and are playing different members of their squad," Jones said.

"We've been able to select from the core of our squad, so it's one squad against the other one. No one gets a head start, it's all-square when we run out there on Sunday.

"My message to the players will be to put every bit of effort into every minute of the game and win every battle.

"The game will be a series of battles, whether that's in the air, on the ground, in the scrum or the line-out. We've got to make sure we commit ourselves to every battle."

amp_article_425088 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-12-04 15:58:25:
html db last update - 2020-12-14 07:17:01 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Eddie Jones

Click here for more stories about England

Share this article now:
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Tottenham HotspurSpurs1274124101425
2Liverpool127412718925
3Leicester CityLeicester128042415924
4Southampton127232417723
5Chelsea1264225121322
6West Ham UnitedWest Ham126242015520
7Everton126242118320
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd116231917220
9Manchester CityMan City115421711619
10Aston Villa106042113818
11Crystal Palace125251817117
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115241416-217
13Wolverhampton WanderersWolves125251116-517
14Leeds UnitedLeeds124261722-514
15Arsenal124171015-513
16Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton122461521-610
17Burnley11236618-129
18Fulham122281222-108
19West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom12138925-166
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd120111521-161
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Tottenham HotspurSpurs1274124101425
2Liverpool127412718925
3Leicester CityLeicester128042415924
4Southampton127232417723
5Chelsea1264225121322
6West Ham UnitedWest Ham126242015520
7Everton126242118320
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd116231917220
9Manchester CityMan City115421711619
10Aston Villa106042113818
11Crystal Palace125251817117
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115241416-217
13Wolverhampton WanderersWolves125251116-517
14Leeds UnitedLeeds124261722-514
15Arsenal124171015-513
16Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton122461521-610
17Burnley11236618-129
18Fulham122281222-108
19West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom12138925-166
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd120111521-161
Scroll for more - Tap for full version
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
X

We value your privacy

A part of our GDPR compliance we need to ask for your consent. We and our partners use technology such as cookies on Sports Mole to personalise content and ads, provide social media features, and analyse our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology on Sports Mole.