As the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations enters its second round, England are set to host France on Saturday 8th February at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham.
Head-to-head
England and France share a colourful (and brutal) rivalry in the Championship, spanning back to 1906. There have been 111 fixtures between the two sides with England claiming the lion’s share (60) of the victories over France (44).
France have won each of their last three Guinness Men’s Six Nations matches against England, including their most recent meeting at the Allianz Stadium by a 43-point margin (53-10 in March 2023), their biggest ever victory against England. However, only once before have Les Bleus won four straight games against England in the Championship (1975-1978).
England will be eager to reverse this trend, particularly on home soil, aiming to claim their first Six Nations victory over France since 2021.
Current form
England come into this match following a difficult period, having lost seven of their last nine matches, including a recent 27-22 defeat to Ireland in round one.
Despite these setbacks, the team remains optimistic. Back-rower Ben Earl expressed confidence, stating “The dam will break,” emphasising their belief in an imminent turnaround.
England captain Maro Itoje put his side’s loss down to an inability to exit and control territory, saying: "We need to control the territory more consistently throughout the game. It is hard to dissect the reasons for the loss so soon after the game, but it was a territory thing - we were not able to exit as efficiently as we would like".
France, by contrast, began their campaign with a dominant 43-0 win over Wales. However, they face a significant challenge with the possible suspension of fly-half Romain Ntamack, who received a 20-minute red card in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations opener.
Team news
For England, former captain Jamie George is set to return after recovering from a hamstring injury, providing a boost to the squad. Despite recently losing the captaincy, George’s experience remains invaluable.
Alex Lozowski has also been called into the squad, as he replaces Cadan Murley who picked up a foot injury on his debut against Ireland.
Despite the possible loss of Ntamack, head coach Fabien Galthié will be excited by the potential return of star winger Damian Penaud, who has been included in their 42-man squad to prepare to take on England in round two.
Stats dive
England have lost three of their last six home games in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations, as many as they’d lost in their previous 29 such fixtures (W25, D1). They have won each of their last two home games in the Championship though, with both victories coming by fewer than three points, so expect a tight battle at the Allianz Stadium.
France have become a formidable force, having lost just one of their last 11 Tests (W9, D1), winning their last four in a row, and haven’t lost consecutive matches on the road since 2021, which included a Six Nations defeat to England at the Allianz Stadium (also v Australia in July 2021).
France have also won six of their seven away games in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations since the beginning of 2022 (L1), including each of their last three in a row. They will be aiming to win four straight games away from home in the Championship for the first time since 2009-2011.
Fifteen of England’s last 17 games have been decided by single figure margins, including each of their six Championship fixtures during that spell, with the only exceptions being two comfortable victories against Japan (52-17 in June 2024; 59-14 in November 2024).
France back-rower Gregory Alldritt was immense last weekend against Wales, making the joint-most carries of any player in Round 1 (18, joint with Blair Kinghorn) and was one of just two players to make 30+ metres in contact (32; Jac Morgan made 38). Alldritt also hit the most defensive rucks of any player last weekend (17).
England’s Tom Curry won the most turnovers of any player across the opening round of this year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations, securing three jackals from the 12 rucks he hit, while his twin brother Ben ranked joint-first for dominant tackles (4, also Sebastian Negri and Giacomo Nicotera).
