Hodgson all fired up for ‘Le Crunch’

CHARLIE HODGSON is braced for a tale of the unexpected when he makes his first England appearance at the Stade de France tomorrow.

The England fly-half has yet to encounter the French in their own backyard, although whatever happens this weekend, it surely cannot be worse than last year, when Hodgson and fellow goalkicker Olly Barkley were booed by the Twickenham faithful.

Missed penalties cost England as France, inspired by the boot of scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili, pinched an 18-17 verdict.

It means the pre-tournament favourites will now bid for a hat-trick of RBS 6 Nations Championship victories over England.

But far more significantly, Sunday’s winners can look forward to contesting silverware when the competition reaches its conclusion next week, while the losers will effectively be left contesting third place.

France go to Cardiff and England host Ireland on the tournament’s final day, yet “Le Crunch” is once again a defining game for both European super-powers, especially with the World Cup just 18 months away.

England and France saw their Grand Slam hopes destroyed in unlikely fashion by a resurgent Scotland, but the Six Nations title is still up for grabs amid the most wide open championship race for years.

The form book suggests France should triumph - England have not toppled them in Paris since 2000 - and Hodgson accepts it will be a real test of the world champions’ ability to perform under pressure.

“France have shown glimpses of magical rugby this season, and they’ve also had their low times. Hopefully, we can put them under a lot of pressure, but France are very unpredictable,” said Hodgson.

“They can turn up on the day and destroy anybody, so we have to make sure we defend well.

“I think you have to be prepared for the unexpected, but the only thing you can really do is concentrate on their previous games, look at their patterns of running and what they have been doing.

“I have never played at Stade de France before. I guess there are a lot of places you go to and experience a fantastic atmosphere, and I am sure Stade de France will be no different.

“A lot of the boys have played in France and what comes with that - the crowd whistling and jeering at you and stuff - and it will just be on a bigger scale. I am looking forward to the challenge.”

Although England, thanks to the assistance of a star-studded replacements’ bench, comfortably beat Wales last month, they struggled against Italy before losing at Murrayfield in what many felt was an accident waiting to happen.

But Hodgson has kept his form throughout, sounding a positive note leading towards next year’s global spectacular, when England will plan a return to Stade de France and a second successive World Cup final appearance on October 20, 2007.

“Individually, I am pleased with the way things are going,” he said.

“I am enjoying my rugby at the moment - I am feeling more at ease with the set-up. “The main thing I’ve developed has been my understanding of my game, and what to do in certain areas.

“That is something I have picked up from Philippe (Saint-Andre) through the work I’ve done at Sale.

“I think Scotland was a blip, a bad day at the office. With the amount of possession we had, we created so many chances, but did not finish them off.

“Scotland defended very well, but we are not going to panic. We’ve looked at the video, and it was quite frustrating to watch, and that disappointment is spurring people on to make sure we do things right this weekend.”

The jury is out though, on whether England actually have the capability to deliver a world-class performance by stopping France at source and giving Hodgson a playmaker’s platform.

Seven defeats from their last eight games on the road is hardly a statistic to frighten France and it could mean more away-day pain.