France have finished as runners-up to England in the Women’s Six Nations for six straight years, with last year’s title decided by one point. England remain favourites for an eighth consecutive trophy but are missing key players due to retirements, pregnancy, and injury, including the usual captain Zoe Stratford, Abbie Ward, and Alex Matthews. France have strong defensive and contact statistics, leading in carries, offloads, defenders beaten, fewest missed tackles, most dominant contacts, and an 88.4% tackle success rate. England have scored the most points and feature Marlie Packer as top try scorer, with Zoe Harrison converting 23 of 24 kicks. England’s coach expects defence to matter, but prioritizes outscoring France. Packer calls for improved reaction and decision-making under pressure.
"When asked if working on defence will be critical against France, the England head coach, John Mitchell, said: It will be, but we'll just score more. Against Italy, England conceded the most points they ever have in the Six Nations against a team that was not France. The former England captain Packer believes the side need to be more reactionary: I think we need to be a bit better at see, do. We are thinking. As soon as you think, the other team has a foot on top of you."
#womens-six-nations #england-vs-france #defence-and-tackling #team-injuries-and-squad-depth #kicking-and-scoring
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