England coach Stuart Lancaster says France are 'world class'

England coach Stuart Lancaster says Saturday’s opponents France are a world-class side and believes it would be a timely boost for his team to clinch the Six Nations title in World Cup year.

England have finished as runners-up in the Six Nations Championship for the past three seasons and go into this weekend’s final round of games with a slender advantage over holders Ireland who conclude their fixtures with a trip to Scotland. Wales are also in with a shout but need to overcome a huge points deficit.

Even though France are fourth in the table, with just one game to play, Lancaster knows they are a dangerous outfit and it will be a completely different match to the one last Saturday when England required a strong second half performance to see off the Scots.

If we could get the Six Nations title under our belt, in the lead up to the World Cup, that would be fantastic

Looking ahead to Saturday’s clash at Twickenham, Lancaster told Sky Sports News HQ: “France are a completely different proposition to Scotland. They are strong at the set-piece, and they have very big powerful players across the board.

“So it’s a different challenge and we must prepare accordingly. But we must focus on ourselves and where we can improve. The game will come down to the full 80 minutes.

"France have a very strong bench themselves and have turned a lot of performances around in the second half. They have got some big guys who come on and make a difference. So the bench will be important for us.

“But we have to get our selection right first and we’ll be considering that in the next 24 hours.”

And Lancaster does not down play the importance of the occasion, with the World Cup being staged in England later in the year.

So it’s a different challenge and we must prepare accordingly. But we must focus on ourselves and where we can improve. The game will come down to the full 80 minutes

'Fantastic'

"If we could get the Six Nations title under our belt, in the lead up to the World Cup, that would be fantastic," he said.

“Not just for the team but also the supporters who have been fantastic in backing us. But you don’t get rewards by thinking about them, you must deliver it.

“We need to get the performance right first before we even think about the points margin. France are a very proud side. There is no way they will lie down at Twickenham and on their day are a world class side which we’ve seen throughout the last four or five years.”

And 36 hours after beating Scotland  25-13, which was viewed by many as a disappointing winning margin against a team sitting bottom of the table without a win, Lancaster offered his assessment of the England performance.

France are a different challenge and we must prepare accordingly. But we must focus on ourselves and where we can improve.

“Looking at the positives, the three tries we scored were good tries," he said. "I think we were a little unlucky not to get a few others, possibly a penalty try, but not finishing some of the others was frustrating.

“When I showed the boys the chances we created, there were certainly some positives in that. Scotland were hurting from losing to Italy. Speaking afterwards with some of their coaches, they said that was the most intense week of training they had.

“Any team needs breaking down and we broke them down regularly. But more composure and execution is required for Saturday.”