Guilhem Guirado tells France to prepare for England's 'ferocity' in Six Nations opener
Friday 3 February 2017 22:28, UK
France should prepare to dig in and defend against England's "ferocity" on Saturday, according to their captain.
Guilhem Guirado and Les Bleus face the daunting task of ending the Grand Slam holders 14-match winning run under Eddie Jones when this year's Six Nations gets going this weekend.
And the visiting skipper has told his team-mates there is no escaping the fact they are in for a real scrap at English rugby union's headquarters.
"England had a very good year in 2016," Guirado said. "They've got a lot of confidence and they are starting this Six Nations at home which is good for them.
"We must be ready to defend. We know England are a very efficient side with a direct approach and above all we are aware of the ferocity with which they play the game.
"England have said what they want to do, good for them. We worked hard in November and we competed well against two of the three best nations in the world, Australia and New Zealand.
"We know where we went wrong and we've worked hard. We know England have dominated their matches, but, I repeat, we are just concentrating on ourselves.
"We know we must be aggressive in defence and attack. We know we must hang onto the ball and, when we do, score points.
"In the autumn we had a lot of ball in the middle but our problem was in the opposition 22. If we had been better at this, we would have won more games. We need to concentrate on keeping the ball and scoring points, even if it's with the boot."
Hooker Guirado has the chance to lead from the front in the scrum against opposite number Dylan Hartley, who remains England skipper despite serving another ban this winter.
"I know that Dylan is seen as a controversial character in England, but I've played against him many times," he said.
"He will be faithful to himself, he loves to impose himself in a 'fight'. He's a leader for England, so I know that he will be there in the scrummaging and the rucks."
