SM
Sports Mole words bigger AMP 2
Bournemouth vs. Liverpool: 12 hrs 36 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

Ben Youngs: 'Shaun Edwards presence makes France tough opposition'

:Headline: Ben Youngs: 'Shaun Edwards presence makes France tough opposition': ID:424339: from db_amp
England created the stage to avenge their only defeat of the year after dispatching Wales 24-13 at Parc y Scarlets.
Ben Youngs: 'Shaun Edwards presence makes France tough opposition'

Ben Youngs insists the influence of Shaun Edwards ensures that even a France team severely depleted by rugby politics will be formidable adversaries in Sunday's Autumn Nations Cup final.

England created the stage to avenge their only defeat of the year after dispatching Wales 24-13 at Parc y Scarlets, but the climax to the tournament has been devalued by the constraints placed on Les Bleus coach Fabien Galthie.

An agreement struck in response to the threat of legal action from France's Top 14 clubs means Galthie is only able to pick each player a maximum of three times across the six matches that form an extended autumn.

Having front loaded stars such as Antoine Dupont, Virimi Vakatawa and Gregory Alldritt in a campaign that started with a warm-up match against Wales – a week before the final round of the interrupted 2020 Six Nations – Galthie is left with limited options.

Fly-half Romain Ntamack could be back from injury, but even the shadow team that flattened Italy on Saturday night must now return Teddy Thomas and Baptiste Serin back to their clubs.

The loss of Serin requires Galthie to pick his third captain of the autumn against a side he says are "probably the best team in the world right now since South Africa have not been playing".

England would now be Grand Slam champions but for a harrowing 24-17 defeat in Paris in February when a French revival that coincided with the arrival of Edwards from Wales began.

England finish Group A emphatic winners after avoiding the banana skin of a trip to Llanelli in a game Jones compared to watching the shower scene in the film 'Psycho'.

Jones was referring to Wales' third-quarter comeback when the lead was reduced to 18-13, creating the type of scenario where in the past his teams have imploded – but on this occasion they responded with two critical penalties by Owen Farrell.

"We had a large part of the game under control but there was a period in the second half where we gave away a few penalties in a row and were ill-disciplined," Youngs said.

"The pleasing thing for me is that previously when that's happened we've sometimes not eradicated the penalties and they've kept coming and we haven't been able to snap them.

"That shows a huge amount of growth in the side and that was really pleasing. As a whole it was a fairly professional performance in many ways in getting a good job done."

amp_article__424339 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-11-29 13:21:16:
html db last update - 2020-11-29 13:21:16 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Ben Youngs

Click here for more stories about England

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool22165154213353
2Arsenal23138244212347
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2313553327644
4Manchester CityMan City23125647301741
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle23125641271441
6Chelsea23117545301540
7Bournemouth23117541261540
8Aston Villa2310763435-137
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2381053531434
10Fulham238963431333
11Brentford2394104240231
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd2385102832-429
13Crystal Palace236982630-427
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2376102844-1627
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs2373134637924
16Everton225891928-923
17Leicester CityLeicester2345142549-2417
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2344153252-2016
19Ipswich TownIpswich2337132147-2616
20Southampton2313191653-376
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .