England, third in the world, have beaten the teams ranked second, fourth, fifth and sixth over the past 12 months
Six Nations: England v France |
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Venue: Twickenham Date: Sunday, 10 February Kick-off: 15:00 GMT |
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online; text updates and highlights on the BBC Sport website and app; TV highlights on BBC Two at 18:00 GMT. |
England will look to expose a tiring France defence in the final stages of their Six Nations game at Twickenham on Sunday, says England boss Eddie Jones.
Chris Ashton is recalled to the starting XV at the expense of Jack Nowell, who Jones feels can help blitz the flagging French from the bench.
"The tradition of France is to fade a little bit in the final 20 [minutes] - the evidence shows that," said Jones.
"If we can get the pace of the game up, the last 20 will be a telling factor."
Jones says Nowell was "brilliant" in England's crushing victory over Ireland in Dublin in round one, but says he has a "gut feeling" Ashton will prosper from the start this weekend.
"We just feel Ashton at the start of the game might grab us something," Jones said.
"And in the last 20 minutes of the game work-rate is going to be super-important.
"Jack is our busiest winger and our best player for that period of time."
Despite leading 16-0 in their Championship opener against Wales, France capitulated in the second half to lose 24-19.
Les Bleus come to Twickenham having not won in south west London since 2005, when Dimitri Yachvili kicked France to an 18-17 victory. , external
But Jones says England will be able to better their emotional intensity, which was so evident in their ambush at the Aviva Stadium last time out.
"We feel like we have the players in a pretty good spot at the moment. I think we will be better than we were last week," Jones said.
"We have a group of players here who are desperate to do well for their country, and they want to make their country proud. That is a pretty powerful motivation.
"Our aim is to be the best team on Sunday, and to be the best team in the Six Nations and to be the best team in the world."
'It is definitely slower'
Ashton scored 24 Top 14 tries in a record-breaking debut season for Toulon
Ashton, who starts a Championship match for the first time in six years, has first-hand experience of the French game after a year at Toulon, where he smashed the Top 14 try-scoring record.
"They are always big teams but a massive part of the French league is turnovers and counter-attack," Ashton explained.
"The game [in France] is slower, and the league is slower, but I don't think that applies to all the players.
"The players playing for France are there for a reason."
Sunday's fixture will see him face off against old team-mate Mathieu Bastareaud, the huge centre who has returned to the France side, and Ashton has warned of a French backlash.
"Having Bastareaud back in the squad is a real big lift for them. He's a leader in their team," he added.
"I think it will definitely be an angry French [team]. I think they are a few games away from people's minds being changed about them."
