Six Nations news: A look at the last five meetings between England and France
Saturday sees England welcome France to Twickenham for a crucial Six Nations clash.
‘Le Crunch’, as the fixture is known, has been played 111 times in history, with England currently leading the way on 60 wins compared to France’s 44.
That said, the Antoine Dupont–led visitors are overwhelming favourites this year and will be desperate to avoid a slip-up in their hunt for the Six Nations title.
Sports News Blitz writer Charlie Elliott takes a look at the last five games between the two nations.
2020, December 6 – England 22-19 France
In the final of the Autumn Nations Cup – a COVID-era replacement for the Autumn Internationals – England finished with a flourish to grab a tight win over the French.
After a converted Luke Cowan-Dickie try had equalised things at the death, Owen Farrell knocked over a penalty 15 minutes into extra time to seal the victory.
Played in front of only 2000 fans due to lockdown regulations, the match lacked intensity and felt like a training exercise for the most part.
The game also showed the importance of experience in international rugby, with England boasting a combined 813 caps in comparison to 68 on the French side.
All in all, it was a strange but memorable experience for the fans watching at home.
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2021, March 13 – England 23-20 France
Once again, it was a late try from an England forward that broke French hearts.
This time, the damage was done by Maro Itoje, who dashed the Grand Slam hopes of the visitors in the 76th minute.
Although French magic had repeatedly threatened to crack open a strong English defence, there were only four points in it heading into the final five minutes.
The winning try ultimately came from a brave move by Farrell to kick for the corner instead of settling for a deficit-reducing penalty.
Wales went on to claim the Six Nations title, with France having to settle for second place.
2022, March 20 – France 25-13 England
A year later, France secured their first Six Nations Grand Slam in 12 years thanks to a convincing win over England in Paris.
The first half was pure domination by the hosts as they romped to an 18-6 lead courtesy of tries from Gael Fickou and Francois Cros.
With the game effectively finished at that point, Freddie Steward grabbed a second-half try to briefly reignite English hopes before Dupont scored brilliantly to put the result beyond doubt.
As had been the case throughout the tournament, France completely outfoxed their opponents tactically while offering numerous moments of individual flair with ball in hand.
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2023, March 11 – England 10-53 France
In 2023, Twickenham was brutally silenced when England fell to their biggest ever home defeat at the hands of a spectacular France team.
Seven ruthless tries were plundered by the visitors, with Dupont cleverly exposing the many flaws in Steve Borthwick’s tactics.
England would have had some degree of optimism before the game, but it was quickly silenced after the first half racked up a deficit of 24 points.
To make matters worse, they then lost to Ireland a week later as the men in green clinched the Six Nations title and a Grand Slam to boot.
2024, March 16 – France 33-31 England
In the most recent game between these two sides, France made it three consecutive wins in Le Crunch.
Thomas Ramos nailed a late penalty from the halfway line to leave the English empty-handed in Lyon.
For all their disappointment, though, England did at least manage to grab two bonus points and thus consolidate third spot in the final standings, in the process achieving their best result in the competition under Borthwick.
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