England and France will collide in a giant mismatch of experience in Sunday's Autumn Nations Cup final that even Les Bleus manager Raphael Ibanez accepts can be viewed a "farce".
The 107th meeting between the rivals is the most lopsided Test in history with England fielding their most seasoned line-up of all time containing 813 caps, while France will arrive at Twickenham with a mere 68 caps.
The vast disparity in appearances is the result of constraints placed on head coach Fabien Galthie by an agreement between the French Rugby Federation and the Top 14 clubs over availability.
Each player can be picked a maximum three times across the autumn's six Tests and having relied on his front line internationals earlier in the campaign, Galthie is forced to send a shadow team to Twickenham.
It has devalued the final to the extent that Ibanez, the former France and Wasps hooker, admits "seen from abroad this final can be regarded as 'a farce'. We can understand them".
England retain 13 starters from last autumn's World Cup final in a settled side that shows just one change following last Saturday's victory over Wales, with Anthony Watson replacing the injured Jonathan Joseph on the right wing.
Yet Eddie Jones has played down the benefit of having an additional 745 caps, adding that 8/1 underdogs France – hosts of the 2023 World Cup – must be respected.
"It's no advantage. They've got a squad in place and are playing different members of their squad," Jones said.
"We've been able to select from the core of our squad, so it's one squad against the other one. No one gets a head start, it's all-square when we run out there on Sunday.
"My message to the players will be to put every bit of effort into every minute of the game and win every battle.
"The game will be a series of battles, whether that's in the air, on the ground, in the scrum or the line-out. We've got to make sure we commit ourselves to every battle."
