England take on France in their second Pool C match at the Rugby World Cup on Saturday in New Zealand; the Red Roses hold a 26-match winning run but know that France could pose a threat to that record; kick-off is at 8am on Saturday morning
Friday 14 October 2022 17:07, UK
Will Greenwood believes England's Red Roses can lay down a key marker at the Rugby World Cup on Saturday against fellow 'rockstars' France.
World leaders England scored 14 tries during their 84-19 victory over Fiji in Pool C last weekend while France opened their account with a 40-5 result against South Africa.
Tournament hosts New Zealand, the second ranked side in the world, were one of the other teams to have commenced their World Cup campaign on a winning note and Greenwood is looking at all three as potential winners.
"France, New Zealand and England are the rock star favourites," he said on Sky Sports News.
"England play France this weekend and what a psychological advantage you get by beating a team in the group (stage) and then meeting them again.
"It happened in the men's version in 2007, South Africa beat England in the group and met them again in final. South Africa had that ability to know that no matter how well England played that night, they felt they always had them.
"It's a big, big game this weekend."
England and France know each other extremely well and have enjoyed many a Six Nations decider in front of exceptional crowds over recent seasons.
England arrive at this Rugby World Cup clash with a 26-match winning run behind them. They have not lost to Les Bleus since March 2018.
France always present a huge challenge and this time it will be no different. They have a new-look coaching set-up since we last played and we look forward to another big test and what I expect to be a close contest.
Head coach Simon Middleton has made just one change for the meeting, with Marlie Packer replacing Sadia Kabeya at openside flanker. Kabeya drops out of the match-day squad all together.
"England's team is a wonderful team and it is a well-coached team," Greenwood noted.
"I had the opportunity to spend a brief amount of time with them, go training with them and see how they operate with the communication, the mission and the understanding of one in, all in.
"The professionalism around the warm-ups, the warm-downs [differs from my time], as rugby has moved on," Greenwood continued.
"The women are market leaders, the tip of the spear for us. They are outstanding physical specimens, wonderful ambassadors and it's great to see them going so well.
"I know the Roses have a huge amount of support up and down the country and we wish them well in winning a World Cup."
I have never seen Sarah have a bad training session or a bad game. Every single session is top-notch with her and her consistency is quite phenomenal. Sarah is about breaking records, not equalling them so I will probably reserve a few comments for the next time she takes the field.
On Saturday, England will be led by Sarah Hunter, who once again starts at No 8 and captains the team.
The occasion marks her 137th game for the national side, making her the joint most-capped England international alongside former Red Roses prop Rocky Clark.
"She's so awesome and she's still the best in her position," Greenwood said about Hunter.
"I love the way Simon Middleton said that Hunter is about beating records, and not equalling records, and when she gets to 138, then we'll really celebrate.
"I think that's a beautiful way of understanding that this France game on Saturday is hugely relevant to them going on to win the World Cup."
Hunter herself also wants to keep the focus fixed on the team, as they look to maintain their exceptional winning run and remain on course for a third Rugby World Cup title and a first since 2014.
"It's almost a 'pinch me' moment and someone's going to be like, 'you are going to wake up from your dream sometime soon'. It's been an incredible journey and hopefully it will continue for a little bit longer," Hunter said about her achievement.
"Rocky Clark is an absolute legend so to be in the same breath as her, talking about record caps is pretty special.
"I think it is something I will look back after the game and recognise as the focus this week has to be on the team and how I can be the best version of myself and contribute to the team's performance."
The Red Roses will take to the field against Les Bleus at 8am UK time on Saturday and there will be a dedicated live blog running on SkySports.com and the Sky Sports App throughout the contest.
