England vs. France Betting Tips: Tight tussle at Twickenham expected

France head to Twickenham knowing their quest to retain the Six Nations hinges on beating the English before cheering them on to defeat Ireland later on in the tournament. The Red Rose, meanwhile, have their destiny in their own hands but are underdogs to beat France here, let alone the Irish in a few weeks time. It should be a gripping encounter at Twickenham on Saturday and Billy Grimshaw has previewed the game here...

England vs. France Tips

I am heading to the simplest market in rugby betting for our first punt in this game, the match result market. France are my tip to win at Twickenham for the first time since 2007.

After losing to Ireland in their penultimate match, the French kept their slim Six Nations retention hopes alive by beating Scotland in a thriller in Paris last time out. They have not looked at their brilliant best all tournament, yet are still sticking in contests and grinding out wins.

With the Championship now at the business end and the coaching team having more time to prepare the 2023 World Cup hosts, I expect to see them hit their straps soon and England could be the unlucky opponents on Saturday.

On paper France undoubtedly have the better side and I'd wager their coaching team is superior as well, certainly at this stage as the England set up are still getting used to the roles assigned to them after Eddie Jones' sacking.

This match, billed as 'Le Crunch', really is the last chance saloon for the French and I think they can shake off their rustiness to prove too strong for their hosts.

In the aftermath of France's win over Scotland, Shaun Edwards highlighted how the French were aware of their dismal Six Nations record at Twickenham (no wins since 2005) and this proves how seriously Les Bleus will be taking this game.

Simply put if both teams bring their best, which I think they will, France are the better side. Their talismanic scrum half Antoine Dupont is arguably the best player in world rugby right now and if he is on top form England will struggle to contain him. At 5/6 I rate the visitors a decent bet to snap the hoodoo and kill England's Six Nations hopes. 

Ethan Dumortier First Try-Scorer

In my outright preview of the Six Nations, I tipped up Ethan Dumortier to be the tournament's top try-scorer at 20/1. He is on two right now, one behind the leader Huw Jones, and obviously has a cracking chance with the plum tie against potential whipping boys Wales to come.

I think there is some juice in his price of 11/1 to open the scoring here at Twickenham as well, and will be recommending a small wager on him being the first player to cross the whitewash as our second tip.

Dumortier hasn't exactly lit the Six Nations on fire so far, but France do tend to look for him when on the offensive and his club form indicates what a talented try-scorer he is.

If England yield possession and territory early to France, the visitors have no trouble scoring points and spreading the play, so Dumortier could be one of the main beneficiaries of this.

With our prediction that France will win the match, a good start could be crucial and I'd fancy Dumortier to have the better of his opposite number, so at odds of 11/1 he is worth a small play to score the first try of the match.