Gregory Alldritt and France ready to tackle ‘best enemies’ England

Gregory Alldritt insists France will feed off their supporters’ enthusiasm for ‘Le Crunch’ when they clash with England in Lyon on Saturday.

Les Bleus have a mathematical chance of winning the Guinness Six Nations title in the finale to the tournament but for their captain the encounter is as much about understanding its meaning for fans.

“In terms of rugby, it’s like any other match. We know for all our fans, all French people, they’re our best enemies. People love this match, which makes it a special moment too,” Alldritt said.

“We haven’t always managed to get our fans together and do what we’ve wanted to do on the field. Against England we have a chance to do that.

“We’re determined to put in a big performance to make them proud because we know it’s the end of the Six Nations and they will only see us again in the summer.”

France are odds-on favourites to prevail at Groupama Stadium, but Alldritt insists England’s bronze-medal finish at the World Cup is worthy of respect.

“Some said they had an easier side of the draw, but it’s never easy to finish third,” Alldritt said.

“You have to be rigorous and resilient throughout the competition, so congratulations to them for that. During this Six Nations they have had good and less good, a bit like us.

“They proved last weekend that they could go against the best and they were slowly getting back to the standard we expect from them.”