An expectant French crowd of 80,000 will be packed into the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday evening, in the sure and certain hope of seeing France win their third Grand Slam in eight years.
Their opponents, England, will be keen to spoil the party and break French hearts – but Martin Johnson’s men arrive into this fixture as the overwhelming underdogs.
That’s largely because Les Blues have been sublime throughout this year’s championship; and they will thoroughly deserve to lift the Six Nations trophy on Saturday night after a campaign of direct, attacking and exciting rugby.
Johnson, though, has laid the gauntlet down at the feet of the French, claiming that Marc Lievremont’s team have everything to lose ahead of the final game of this year’s championship. Although this may just be a ploy to attract the attention away from his lacklustre team – he’s absolutely spot on.
Ireland are still poised, ready to capitalise on any slip-up from Europe’s outstanding side. Such is the nature of the Six Nations, the race for the title will go down to the final whistle, and any fleeting thoughts in the France camp that they’ve already landed their hands on the trophy must be cast to one side if they’re to triumph this weekend.
Powerful French centre Mathieu Bastareaud makes a return for the final match of the championship, but Johnson plans to counteract his presence by bringing in Mike Tindall. In fact, the England head coach has made a number of key changes to his squad, as they aim end the tournament with a famous victory in Paris.
Most notably, Jonny Wilkinson makes way for Toby Flood at fly-half. This has caused some surprise for Lievremont, who fully expected the out-of-sorts 30-year-old to start this weekend’s crunch match. Johnson has a point to prove, though, and will be desperate to show he is the man to lead England in next year’s World Cup in New Zealand with a surprise win on Saturday night.
For Ireland to stand any chance of winning back-to-back Six Nations titles, then they must rely on their old rivals to produce the standout performance of the tournament; while also overcoming Scotland at Croke Park earlier in the day.
On the basis of Scotland’s performances away from Murrayfield this year, Ireland head coach Declan Kidney won’t be overly concerned about this weekend’s fixture. He will be apprehensive that their title ambitions are out of their own hands, though - and come 8pm on Saturday evening, Irish fans will be watching France v England with bated breath.
Barring their sole defeat in Paris, Ireland have been very strong in this year’s competition. But their opponents Scotland have a major point to prove after a largely horrendous tournament. Their 15-15 draw against England last weekend was, by far and away, the highlight of a campaign of disappointments; and to avoid the Wooden Spoon they must go to Dublin and win.
This match is far from a foregone conclusion, but one suspects that Ireland will have to capitulate at Croke Park if they’re to give up their final chance of landing the 2010 Six Nations title.
Meanwhile, Wales and Italy will compete for fourth place, also on Saturday afternoon.
Wales have flattered to deceive in this year’s championship and have been, on the whole, very disappointing. A 27-12 defeat against Ireland last week was a harsh lesson of the gulf between the two sides and how far they’ve fallen in the 24 months since they won the Grand Slam.
Italy, though, have been courageous, determined and spirited throughout the campaign. Without their talismanic captain Sergio Parisse, many thought they were certainties for the Wooden Spoon.
But Nick Mallett has done a sterling job getting his players fired up for the championship, and will want to equal Italy’s highest ever Six Nations finish with a surprise win this weekend.
Wales are proven home specialists, however, and with the vocal support firmly behind them at the Millennium Stadium, they should give their fans something to cheer about with a convincing victory on Saturday afternoon.
Of course, though, the main focus will be on the pre-tournament favourites against England in Paris. At the 2007 World Cup, unfancied England brushed past France in the semi-finals to reach their second consecutive final.
Will France really be denied another trophy by their cross-channel neighbours this weekend?
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