France's gameplan

France have rediscovered their swagger, helped by the abandonment of rotational selection. Their pack is not as physical and intimidating as some in recent memory but the tight five's mobility is supplemented by a rapacious back row. The scrum-half Morgan Parra and the No8 Imanol Harinordoquy have been the players of the tournament so far, alert to opportunity and the nature of France's game, based on speed, passing and handling, meaning they create space behind. Nine of France's 13 tries have been scored by three-quarters, but they do not throw the ball around for the sake it.

As France showed in Scotland and Wales, they exert pressure and wait for their opportunities, but are more gung-ho at the Stade de France where they have scored 79 points in two matches. England have yet to concede a try away from Twickenham and if the France coach, Marc Lièvremont, could have chosen a team to take on with the grand slam at stake, England would have been last on his list. "I remember as a player being annoyed by the England team," he said this week. "They did not play good rugby and they cheated."

France look to impose themselves in the opening quarter and the longer England stay with them, the more nervous the home side will get.

England's gameplan

England's approach has been underpinned by a lack of risk and a consequent shortage of tries. Three of their five came in the opening match and they all started when Wales lost possession. Otherwise they only have a rumble from Dan Cole and their sole three-quarter try, scored by the dropped Mathew Tait, to show for four hours of rugby. The lack of quick ball has hindered their outside backs and seen Jonny Wilkinson drop deep. They have made fewer offloads than any other side this tournament and their game has lacked both pace and fluency. That said, no team has conceded fewer tries and if they can hold France in the opening quarter and turn the game into an attritional contest, something they have done in recent visits to Paris, England will be in comfortable and familiar territory. The return of Mike Tindall in the centre will give his forwards a target and should improve their effectiveness at the breakdown, but they need to show more creativity if the selections of Ben Foden and Chris Ashton are to amount to anything more than token. England have posed no attacking threat from set-pieces and they have been at their most effective this year when teams have been prepared to attack from deep, but only Wales have really done so. England's inability to take the game to opponents too often leads to stalemate and they will need to drag France down to their level.