France are set to face England in their final game of the Six Nations, and they will be fully aware of the task at hand to be able to lift the title.
Les Bleus were blown away on Saturday in Murrayfield as they lost 50-40 to Scotland, meaning the title will come down to the final day between these two along with Ireland.
Fabian Galthie’s side understand their task, as knowing a bonus point victory over England will secure consecutive Six Nations.
However, France are set to be without one of their stars of the competition, as Oscar Jegou is being cited for an alleged eye gouge on Scotland hooker Ewan Ashman during the loss at the weekend.
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Jegou will now attend an independent disciplinary hearing after he was cited for an act of foul play, which will be held on Tuesday 10 March.
He is expected to be banned for this action and set to miss Le Crunch against England in Paris this Saturday; at least this seemed to be the indication of former referee Nigel Owens on the BBC’s commentary team during the Scotland match.
Owens said: “It definitely should have been looked at [by the TMO]; it doesn't look good to be honest.
“That player will be in a bit of trouble. There'll be a process in place now that will deal with that, but it should have been looked at in the game because it was quite clear what the actions were.
"It didn't matter in the context of the game, but on another day if the score was tight, things like that are the ones you want the TMO to come in for – the clear and the obvious."
Jegou will be a huge miss for the French in their final match, as he has shone in the Six Nations, leading the charts for the most dominant tackles made by anyone in the competition, and 91.2% of his tackles have been a success, according to Opta's stats.
Galthie has options that could replace him, but they may not have the same impact as Jegou, and this may be a concern going into the England clash.
Topics: Rugby, Rugby Union
Brendan McGilligan