John Mitchell’s Red Roses head to Bordeaux in search of a third consecutive Grand Slam title but Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz’s side will do all they can to stand in the defending champions’ way.
If history repeats itself, Super Saturday is laid out to be a thriller, with the tie being no more than a 12-point game in the last three meetings.
The last time Les Bleues got the better of England on the Championship's final day was 2016. Mignot scored twice in that game and knows all too well how it feels to overcome the Red Roses on home soil.
A solid defence and a nifty back line will be key to breaking down England’s so-far untouchable and unmatched Championship record of 28 games unbeaten.
TEAM NEWS
John Mitchell has once again taken a ‘if it isn't broke, don't fix it’ approach, with two changes to his Red Roses squad.
Amy Cokayne comes back in after her suspension to replace the injured Lark Atkin-Davies while Abbie Ward returns to the squad with Rosie Galligan ruled out with a dislocated thumb.
Morwenna Talling, who was a last-minute replacement for Galligan at Twickenham, retains her spot in the second row as England otherwise keep their XI unchanged.
France make four changes for the clash with reinforcements coming back into the fold in the form of Madoussou Fall, Gaëlle Hermet, Marine Ménager and Nassira Konde who all return.
After starting in the second row against Wales, Charlotte Escudero is back at flanker as Romane Ménager assumes the number eight position.
WHAT THEY SAID
England head coach John Mitchell said: “Our focus has remained on our process and how we best prepare for the next opposition.
“We now have an exciting challenge against France in France which we’re all looking forward to.”
France captain Manae Feleu said: “I'm really proud of what the girls produced against Wales.
"It was really important that we made a statement ahead of the game against England.
"We really want to have the Grand Slam this year and we have worked very hard to get us to this point."
KEY BATTLES – discipline in defence
It is time for both sides to go for the jugular all over the field but maintaining a disciplined defence will be key to coming out on top with so many prolific try-scorers on the field.
Ellie Kildunne, Abby Dow and Jess Breach have carried a combined total of more than 1.5km over four rounds and France must pull out all the stops to inhibit their attack.
Charlotte Escudero, with the second-highest number of tackles (59) across the 2024 Championship will certainly be making every attempt to stand in the way of the Red Roses.
Her opposite number Sadia Kabeya has been at her electric best on the blindside and will be helping the Red Roses avoid Les Bleues staging any kind of upset.
STAT ATTACK
England have won each of their last five Guinness Women’s Six Nations matches against France, however, three of their five wins came by margins of just six points or fewer; this will be the third year in a row that these sides have met in the final round of the Championships with the Grand Slam on the line for both teams, while they also met in the final of the 2021 edition.
France are the only team to have maintained a 100% scrum success rate in the 2024 Guinness Women’s Six Nations (24/24), while England have the Championship’s highest lineout success rate and have also stolen more opposition lineouts than any other side this year (12).
England have recorded more carry metres (4251), made more line breaks (570) and beaten more defenders (163) than any other side in this year’s Championship – in fact, the Red Roses’ tally of 1549 metres carried, 24 line breaks and 63 defenders against Ireland represented the highest tallies by any side in a Championship game this decade.
France have lost just three of their last 20 Guinness Women’s Six Nations matches but all of their defeats during that period have come against England.
FANTASY WATCH
Those with the budget will already have Guinness Women’s Six Nations top scorer Ellie Kildunne in their back three ranks but if owners are looking for a more affordable option, they may look to France’s Joanna Grisez.
Les Bleues’ storming wing, whose 95-metre try against Wales helped her to 49 points at the weekend, can bolster attacks with a price tag of 13.5 stars.
In the second row, Zoe Aldcroft is a fanciful addition with 12 tackles, 128 metres carried and a try for her all-round efforts in Round 4.
And in the back row, Charlotte Escudero is an exciting option for Super Saturday with the highest tackle success rate (98.3%) in the Championship among 60 players to have attempted more than 30 tackles.
TEAMS
France: 15 Emilie Boulard, 14 Joanna Grisez, 13 Nassira Konde, 12 Gabrielle Vernier, 11 Marine Menager, 10 Lina Queyroi, 9 Pauline Bourdon Sansus; 1 Annaëlle Deshaye, 2 Agathe Sochat, 3 Assia Khalfaoui, 4 Manae Feleu (c), 5 Madoussou Fall, 6 Charlotte Escudero, 7 Gaëlle Hermet, 8 Romane Menager
Replacements: 16 Elisa Riffonneau, 17 Ambre Mwayembe, 18 Clara Joyeux, 19 Teani Feleu, 20 Emeline Gros, 21 Alexandra Chambon, 22 Anne-Cécile Ciofani, 23 Chloé Jacquet
England: 15 Ellie Kildunne, 14 Abby Dow, 13 Megan Jones, 12 Tatyana Heard, 11 Jess Breach, 10 Holly Aitchison, 9 Natasha Hunt; 1 Hannah Botterman, 2 Amy Cokayne, 3 Maud Muir, 4 Zoe Aldcroft, 5 Morwenna Talling, 6 Sadia Kabeya, 7 Marlie Packer (c), 8 Alex Matthews
Replacements: 16 Connie Powell, 17 Mackenzie Carson, 18 Kelsey Clifford, 19 Abbie Ward, 20 Maddie Feaunati, 21 Lucy Packer, 22 Emily Scarratt, 23 Sydney Gregson
