France v England tips: Six Nations preview and best bets
England can end the Six Nations on a high with victory over France according to Jon Newcombe, who previews Saturday's finale.
Six Nations betting tips: France v England
4pts England to beat France at 2/1 (General)
3pts Over 51.5pts in the match at 6/5 (General)
1pt England to win by 1-5 points at 7/1 (Betfred)
1pt Charles Ollivon to score a try at 9/2 (Unibet)
Normally you’d expect France and England to be vying for the Six Nations title whenever they meet in the final round of a Six Nations campaign and that still may be the case this Saturday evening.
However, the reality is that the clash in Lyon will be a dead rubber with Ireland expected to get the result they need in the preceding match against Scotland to put to bed the fading hopes the last two combatants of this year’s tournament had of winning the trophy.
Any other fixture might be flatter than a Finn Russell pass as a result, but not this one: there is no holding back when the cross-Channel rivals cross swords. While it might be expecting too much for a repeat of the 90-point thriller in 2015, OVER 51.5 POINTS looks very doable given the pressure will likely be off by the time they get proceedings under way.
Specific lines of course vary from firm to firm so we've elected to go with one that should be available to most readers. However, those with the right accounts should consider going higher still, with bigger than 2/1 available about over 55.5 if you shop around.
France certainly didn’t hold back in racking up a record score and win at Twickenham last year. That was Les Bleus at their swashbuckling best but they’ve not been near the same level this year without their main matador, Antoine Dupont, bewitching the opposition with his movement and sleight of hand.
Last year’s 53-10 humiliation will still be fresh in the minds of many of the England team and they will back themselves to score tries against an unusually leaky French defence. But it is hard to tell at this stage whether last week’s 23-22 win over Ireland was them turning a corner or just an emotional uptick in a game where they had very little to lose and much to gain.
It always used to be said of France that it all depends on which version of themselves turns up but that could equally be applied to England.
Against Ireland they showed what they are capable of when they actually hold on to passes and play with real purpose. But whenever England have won this year it has been by small margins – three points against Italy, two against Wales and one against Ireland, and this game could follow suit.
We'll take them to WIN BY 1-5 POINTS in anticipation of a high-scoring thriller.
CLICK HERE to back England by 1-5pts with Sky Bet
France moved effortlessly around the country when they hosted the World Cup but, for whatever reason, they have struggled in the two games they’ve played at home this year outside of Paris.
They lost by a record margin to Ireland in Marseille and then drew with Italy in Lille, the first time that they’ve failed to beat the Azzurri at home in the Six Nations. As always, England fans will travel in numbers and we’re confident that they’ll have a performance to cheer about even though they’ve lost some of their menace out wide following Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s withdrawal due to concussion.
It was only in the final half an hour that France pulled away from Wales in winning 45-24 in Cardiff in round four and ENGLAND can stand toe-to-toe with them for the full 80 minutes.
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The strength of France’s bench was far superior to that of Wales but the same won’t be true this time around as England have a few big guns of their own to unleash if the need arises, notably Manu Tuilagi, who if this turns out to be his swansong Test appearance, will want to make a big impact.
The avalanche of points at Twickenham last year included a brace from CHARLES OLLIVON, the flanker’s second double in three appearances against England.
Since then, he has scored a very respectable four tries in 14 caps, including France’s solitary score in the draw with Italy, and is 9/2 to improve that record further with a try in the final match of the tournament, albeit in a losing cause.
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Posted at 1510 GMT on 15/03/24
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