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There are some ranking ramifications to this dust-up.

England, currently top of the hit parade, will lose their number one ranking if they don't beat France.

If France manage to rack up a win by a margin of more than 15 points they will climb above Canada and into third.

World champions New Zealand are in second spot by the way.

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France's last win over England came in March 2018 in Grenoble where they snatched an 18-17 victory.

England full-back Ellie Kildunne knows that, even behind closed doors, the French are a formidable prospect on home turf.

"It's always a challenge playing France," she said.

"But playing them away comes with another level of intensity."

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England head coach Simon Middleton: “It’s going to be ultracompetitive isn’t it? It was a tough game on Saturday and there were times when we were under a lot of pressure and we showed a great side to ourselves, but that’s not the complete side we want to show."

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France have shaken up their backline for the meeting, with eight changes to the XV that played at Twickenham Stoop.

Caroline Boujard is the only back to retain her place, but moves to the right wing to make way for Elise Pignot on the left.

Jessy Tremouliere comes in at full-back, with Maelle Filopon and Gabrielle Vernier in the centre.

Fly-half Morgane Peyronnet and scrum-half Pauline Bourdon also start while Julie Annery is the only change in the pack, where she replaces flanker Marjorie Mayans.

France: Tremouliere; Boujard, Filopon, Vernier, Pignot; Peyronnet, Bourdon; Deshaye, Sochat, Bernadou, Fall, N'Diaye, Annery, Hermet (capt), Menager.

Replacements:Thomas, Arricastre, Joyeux, Diallo, Touye, Sansus, Imart, Boulard.

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England head coach Simon Middleton makes nine changes to his Women's Six Nations-winning side, with captain Sarah Hunter returning to the starting XV.

Zoe Harrison will start at 10 in Lille, after last week's starter Helena Rowland rejoined GB Sevens.

Hunter returns at eight, pushing Poppy Cleall to blind-side flanker.

Flanker Marlie Packer is isolating after close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19, while lock Cath O'Donnell is unavailable after sustaining a concussion.

England: Kildunne; Breach, Scarratt, McKenna, Dow; Harrison, Riley; Cornborough, Cokayne, Brown, Aldcroft, Millar-Mills, P Cleall, Fleetwood, Hunter (capt).

Replacements:Davies, Botterman, B Cleall, Ward, Beckett, MacDonald, Robinson, Doidge.

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If a picture is worth a thousand words, there is a whole thesis on the weekend's match in this one shot.

Poppy Cleall of England - the tournament's player of the championship - was dumped like a school boy/girlfriend in freshers' week. France's 21-year-old prop Rose Bernadou doing the damage.

Both start tonight.

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England prop Shaunagh Brown told us what it was like to take part in that Six Nations final in her BBC Sport column.

"You could hear how hard the hits were because they echoed around the Twickenham Stoop," she wrote.

"When you run into a French player you think, 'she is not going anywhere, I'm not going anywhere'. It is a sticky situation.

"It shows what women are capable of in rugby.

"Hearing and seeing such big hits... it was a physically entertaining game - even if you do not understand the laws and tactics of rugby."

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Emily Scarratt made her international debut in 2008 and knows that England could be walking into an ambush.

"They say a wounded animal is a dangerous thing," she told BBC Sport.

"You can see the hurt, we understand that because when you are on the other side of it you know how much it means to play for your country.

"It is a dangerous one in terms of their mentality. They have nothing to lose in the current run of wins and losses, we need to not get too emotional but stick to the process and plan that we set out."

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Just when you thought the Red Roses were heading back to the finale of the Premier 15s season, they are yanked back to the south of France for the mere of all grudge matches.

France have lost their last eight matches against England. But only on three of those ocassions has the margin of victory been more than six points.

A hard-fought 10-6 win for England at the Twickenham Stoop in the final of the Six Nations last weekend was, many thought, short change for the visitors' effort.

Now, in an exhibition match in Lille, they have the chance to break that losing streak.

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The trophy's been bagged.

The photos have been snapped.

It's all over.

Or is it...?