Preview: England v France

Although their World Cup win was two years ago, this marks the serious start of England’s bid to retain their crown, with most of their top players prioritising 15s over 7s, in contrast to recent seasons, and with many players taking to the field as fully funded professionals for the first time ever.

The squad to play France reflects this. There are 1,000 senior England caps involved with Worcester Valkyries prop Rochelle Clark looking to come off the bench and gain her 114th cap to equal the England record set by Jason Leonard in 2004.

Olympians Claire Allan (Saracens), Natasha Hunt (Lichfield), Katy Mclean (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks) and Danielle Waterman (Bristol) are named among the starting line up having recently returned from sevens.

There is a blow in the absence of Team GB captain Emily Scarratt, who misses out due to concussion, along with Amber Reed (Bristol), who has been ruled out of the Series with an ankle injury.

The two sides have faced each other twice already this year with one win each. France saw off England 17-12 at the Stade de la Rabine, Vannes to deny the Red Roses a Six Nations Grand Slam and clinch the title. A last gasp try in the Women's Rugby Super Series allowed England to exact revenge in Salt Lake City this summer, running out 17-13 winners to finish second in the series.

It marks the start of a tough week for England who have a four day turnaround before they play Ireland in Dublin.

Head Coach Simon Middleton said: “This is a strong squad with a wealth of experience between them.

“France are a side we know well and will be tough. Preparation has gone well and our focus will be on executing the things we have worked on, to stick to our plan and we look forward to getting an exciting Old Mutual Wealth Series underway.”

France’s Rio players only rejoined the main squad at a training weekend in early October, and it was made clear that they were not going to walk back into their old positions. For many of it will be the first time they have played under Jean-Michel Gonzalez and Philippe Laurent and the former made it clear what is expected by the current Six Natoins champions.

"We can hardly overlook so many quality players" said Jean-Michel Gonzalez on their return, but emphasised that “there is no red carpet”

"Each player has to prove their ability and show they can add value," Gonzalez continued: "The rules of the game are known from day one, so I am not worried. The players know as well and the group as a whole has a positive frame of mind. "

Final preparations and selections also took place with the assistance of Gérald Bastide, coach from the French men’s XV and also watchful eye of professional referee Atallah Salem.

The final French squad is notable for its absences, though many are the result of the intensity of the Top 8 taking its toll. Marjorie Mayans and Jessy Tremouliere have missed most of the season to date, while Jade le Pesq was injured in the last round of games. Other notable absences are Julie Billes, Shannon Izar, Coumba Diallo and Elodie Poublan. However one familiar face got a last minute call up due to Jade le Pesq’s injury. A trial run out for Caroline Ladagnous, coming off the bench for Bobigny, was enough to allow her to replace le Pesq. It was hardly a like-for-like swap, but it does give France an experienced fullback.

The starting XV is an interesting balance between the Six Nations winning team and the sevens team from Rio. The entire backline from 10-15 are returning sevens players, whereas the forwards are by and large the pack that has worn down oppositions in the Six Nations since 2014. France have generally failed to take make the most of the advantage that their pack has given them in recent years, so with their backline now matching (if not exceeding) the forwards in terms of experience the result could be very interesting

In fact, if anything it is the pack that is looking lighter especially with the surprise that Gaëlle Mignot starts on the bench, the captaincy going to Safi N’diaye. There is no suggestion that this is fitness related, and it almost certainly Gonzalez taking the chance to give young reserve hooker Manon Bigit a chance to prove herself in a starting XV against the World Champions. So, important though every episode of "Le Crunch" is to the French, the coaches are still using this as a chance to try out a few combinations.

Apart from Bigot, the other survivor from the Super Series debuts (Gaëlle Hermet) is on the bench, alongside the only new cap, U20 graduate  Annaëlle “Nana” Deshayes from Caen.

One final notable fact about the French team is where they are from, especially following reports of England players being pressured to play for Premiership clubs. Nine of the French squad - and eight of the starting XV - do not play in the Top 8. More players come from second tier Lons than do from national champions Lille.

If anything it is England who have most to prove. France are used to winning, having won four of the last five meetings, and five of the last seven. England, on the other hand, have not beaten France in England since 2013.

Overall the teams have met 38 times before with England leading 25 wins to 13. In England, the home team lead nine games to four.

England Women v France

15 Danielle Waterman (Bristol, 60 caps)14 Kay Wilson (Richmond, 36 caps)13 Claire Allan (Saracens, 32 caps)12 Rachael Burford (Aylesford Bulls, 56 caps)11 Fiona Pocock (Aylesford Bulls, 29 caps)10 Katy Mclean (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, 77 caps)9 Natasha Hunt (Lichfield, 29 caps)

1 Vickii Cornborough (Aylesford Bulls, 17 caps)2 Amy Cokayne (Lichfield, 16 caps)3 Laura Keates (Worcester Valkyries, 52 caps)4 Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, 94 caps)5 Emily Braund (Lichfield, 23 caps)6 Alex Matthews (Richmond, 24 caps)7 Marlie Packer (Bristol, 36 caps)8 Sarah Hunter (Bristol, 81 caps) (c)Replacements:

16 Vicky Fleetwood (Saracens, 51 caps)17 Rochelle Clark (Worcester Valkyries, 113 caps)18 Sarah Bern (Bristol, 2 caps)19 Harriet Millar-Mills (Lichfield, 34 caps)20 Izzy Noel-Smith (Bristol, 20 caps)21 La Toya Mason (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, 56 caps)22 Emily Scott (Saracens, 12 caps)23 Ceri Large (Worcester Valkyries, 50 caps)

France:

1. Lise Arricastre (Lons Rugby féminin Béarn Pyrénées)2. Manon Bigot (Blagnac-Saint Orens Rugby féminin)3. Patricia Carricaburu (Lons Rugby féminin Béarn Pyrénées)4. Celine Ferer (AS Bayonne)5. Manon Andre (Blagnac-Saint Orens Rugby féminin)6. Pauline Rayssac (Montpellier)7. Laetitia Grand (Lons Rugby féminin Béarn Pyrénées)8. Safi N’diaye (Montpellier)9. Yanna Rivoalen (Lille Métropole Rugby Club Villeneuvois)10. Christelle Le Duff (Stade Olympique Villelonguet)11. Elodie Guiglion (FFR)12. Lucille Godiveau (Bobigny)13. Rose Thomas (Bordeaux)14. Camille Grassineau (FFR)15. Caroline Ladagnous (Bobigny)

Replacements:16. Gaëlle Mignot (Montpellier)17. Annaëlle Deshayes (Ovalie Caennaise)18. Lenaïg Corson (Rennes)19. Gaëlle Hermet (Stade Toulousain Rugby Féminin)20. Romane Menager (Lille Métropole Rugby Club Villeneuvois)21. Camille Cabalou (AS Bayonne)22. Carla Neisen (Blagnac-Saint Orens Rugby féminin)23. Julie Duval (Ovalie Caennaise)

Old Mutual Wealth Series

England v France, Wednesday 9 NovemberTwickenham Stoop, KO 7.45pmTickets available here

Ireland v England, Sunday 13 November*University College Dublin, KO 2pm*Not part of Old Mutual Wealth Series

England v New Zealand, Saturday 19 NovemberTwickenham Stoop, KO 12pmTickets available here

England v Canada, Saturday 26 NovemberTwickenham, KO 5.05pmFREE entry after the conclusion of the men’s game