Six Nations: Eddie Jones says England are a 'better team' than France
- Published
Six Nations: France v England |
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Date: Saturday, 19 March Venue: Stade de France, Paris Kick-off: 20:00 GMT |
Coverage: Live on BBC One, BBC Radio 5 live, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app, plus live text commentary. |
Coach Eddie Jones says his England are a "better team" than France as they look to win the Grand Slam for the first time since 2003.
England have clinched the Six Nations title but victory in Paris on Saturday will complete five wins out of five.
"We haven't done anything yet," said Jones. "We've got the Six Nations trophy, but it doesn't feel like that."
Scrum-half Danny Care and prop Mako Vunipola come into the side that beat Wales last weekend.
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France have finished in the bottom half of the table in the past four Six Nations while England will be looking to win a Grand Slam for the 13th time.
"If you look at their team, they have got very talented individuals. We are certain they will play a traditional French game based on forward power and off-the-cuff rugby," said Jones.
"We have just got to be intense and physical to not allow them in the game. They have got a new coach who likes a certain style of play and they are trying to develop that play."
'Lancaster deserves credit'
Jones also said his predecessor Stuart Lancaster deserved credit for doing a "great job" developing the team.
Lancaster, 46, left his post in November after three and a half years in charge, following England's early exit from their home World Cup and Jones told BBC Sport that Lancaster should be "congratulated on the job he did".
The 56-year-old Australian added: "I'd be remiss not to say that a lot of the success has got to be put down to what Stuart Lancaster did with this group of players."
England had the youngest squad at the World Cup, with an average age of 26.2 years.
Jones, the first foreign coach of the England team, added: "He did a great job developing this team up to the stage they were, so we're all thankful to him."
Six Nations schedule | ||
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Date (All times GMT) | Fixture | Coverage |
Sat, 19 Mar (14:30 KO) | Wales v Italy | BBC One, S4C and BBC Radio |
Sat, 19 Mar (17:00 KO) | Ireland v Scotland | ITV and BBC Radio |
Sat, 19 Mar, (20:00 KO) | France v England | BBC One and BBC Radio |
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