England face another tough test in the Six Nations as they host France at Twickenham this evening. Steve Borthwick’s side were beaten by Ireland in Dublin last weekend after falling away in the second-half, and they now attempt to avoid an eighth straight defeat against Tier One opposition.
England were hammered 53-10 by France the last time these sides met at Twickenham, and after a poor autumn the pressure is on to start turning spells of positive performances into something more substantial. Marcus Smith starts at full-back as Fin Smith comes into the side at fly-half, while Tom Willis has also been brought in for Les Blues’ visit.
France were in imperious form on the opening night of the Six Nations, cruising to a 43-0 win. Damian Penaud returns from injury to further strengthen the starting XV, while Matthieu Jalibert replaces the suspended Romain Ntamack. France will be hoping to keep building the momentum heading towards what already feels like a title-decider in Dublin next month. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog, featuring expert analysis from Simon Collings at Twickenham!
England vs France latest news
Good afternoon!
14:15 , Matt Verri
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of England vs France!
Huge afternoon ahead at Twickenham, as England look to bounce back from their opening defeat to Ireland last weekend.
Not going to be easy though - France were imperious in brushing aside Wales and go into this match as the favourites.
We’ll have all the latest updates and build-up right here, before full coverage of the match from 4:45pm GMT. Stick with us!
