The French have been denied one since 2018, while England will be looking for their fifth in a row.
England seemingly walk on water and France would love to knock them off their perch at Stade Chaban-Delmas. The Red Roses are on an impressive 28-game winning streak in the Championship - by far the longest in their history, given that their previous streak was 'only' 19 wins (a feat they achieved twice).
BREAKING THE CYCLE
The last time England lost in 'Le Crunch' was on the penultimate day of the 2018 competition: 18-17 at the Stade des Alpes. On that day, Les Bleues broke their attendance record for a women's rugby Test with 17,440 spectators. That will be broken on Saturday in Bordeaux, where a crowd of between 22,000 and 30,000 is expected (in a venue with a capacity of 34,462). This is still some way off the all-time record of 58,498 set during this fixture last year at Twickenham.
“At Twickenham, when everyone is booing you, it's not the same. When you're in France, the crowd, the Marseillaise, there's something extra. When you play England in France, there will be something extra,” warns prop Clara Joyeux (26, 44 caps).
The 2018 Grand Slam was followed by 12 defeats for the French against a team that has rapidly become their bête noire. Previously, it was New Zealand until the machine jammed and the two nations drew level. But against England, the glass ceiling has yet to be shattered.
“Les Bleues are the only team capable of putting such defensive pressure on the English, who have yet to face any real opposition. It's going to be a tough battle, and although the English are favoured by recent results, the French are the only ones who can stand in their way,” says French rugby consultant and former international Laura Di Muzio.
"WE HAVE ALL THE WEAPONS WE NEED"
The Crunch has been on everyone's mind since the start of the tournament, even if no one has dared to mention it openly. “We know we're capable of making mistakes, of playing bad games. It wouldn't have helped us to think about England at the start of the tournament,” confides a cautious Gabrielle Vernier (26, 44 caps).
“We have all the weapons we need,” adds back-row Emeline Gros (28, 32 caps). "We've managed to overcome some challenges and there are things we can do on the pitch to make us more cohesive.
“We can't wait to play in this final game. Up until now we've been taking things one step at a time, building our project, and that includes this game. In every game we've played, we've sharpened our skills, we've improved certain things, we've worked on the details. And today, at home against England, we've come full circle. It's an eagerly anticipated final.”
“We have to concentrate on ourselves first because we're the ones playing against them,” adds scrum-half Alexandra Chambon (23, 21 caps). “It's our game that's going to get us something this weekend. It is not about slowing down, it's about playing the way we want to play.
“We won't shy away from the physical challenge. We know that if we're going to be able to put everything we've got into the game, we first have to be strong in the fight, in attacking and defending. We don't waste any of that. We've got to be strong in those fundamentals if we're going to have fun in the backs.”
EFFORTS REWARDED AT LAST?
“Our goal is to lift the trophy and be rewarded for all the hard work we've put in over the years,” insists Emeline Gros.
“We deserve to be able to do that and today we're in a position to do it. It may not be a huge score, but just to play them at home in the final and win, if that's the case this year, we'll have turned another corner. Little things will start to click as we go along.”
This spirit of reward is on everyone's lips, as Gaby Vernier confirms. “We're a generation that's worked for years and years and hasn't got a title to show for it. It's frustrating after all the hard work we put in every day to win titles. But we don't come here thinking we're not going to win anything. On the contrary, we tell ourselves that we're not the favourites, but we also know that we're not far away from doing something. It would be the greatest reward for all the hard work we've put in over the years,” she says.
“It's not revenge at all: it's the sense that it's a new season, a new group with new team goals,” agrees back-row Gaëlle Hermet (27, 62 caps).
AVOIDING DEFEAT
“There's a little niggle in the stomach, but there's no negative stress, just the excitement of playing in France in a stadium where we'll break the French attendance record. We're really looking forward to the game. We want to get something out of it. And that's how we want to finish. We want a different feeling.”
“We really don't want to lose,” insists scrum-half Pauline Bourdon-Sansus (28, 56 caps). “It's all about the target and we're obviously excited and impatient. We can't wait to play this game.
“Every time we play them, we try to give our best performance and beat them. We've been working all week on our analysis and our own systems so we can be as good as we can be when we meet them. They play great rugby and are unpredictable.”
Victory in Bordeaux to close the tournament “would be a big statement for the World Cup, which is a year away,” she anticipates. “It would be a great achievement, so of course we'll have to do it again in the future. It would be very satisfying for us because we've been working hard for a year and a half now.”
