France vs England Betting Preview, Odds & Predictions

Ralph Staniforth

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Last updated: 1 hour ago

Ralph Staniforth 1 hour ago

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France targets the Six Nations title in a vital clash against England.
England aims to bounce back from a string of defeats, needing a big performance.
France has a home advantage but must guard against complacency.

TIght contest expected in Saint-Denis (Getty Images)

Ultimately this match will decide who will end the 2026 Six Nations as champions. France will almost certainly be second going into this fifth-round clash but will also know exactly what is required for them to win the Six Nations.

Match Details
Recent Form
Head-to-Head Record
Team News
France vs England Starting Lineups
Key Stats
Match Analysis
Betting Markets to Watch
Latest Odds

When the tournament kicked off, most thought this would be the title decider, but not in this way. England’s form has fallen off a cliff with many doubts suddenly around the side. Defeat could see England finish fifth (their current placement) which will be their lowest in several years.

Match Details

Match	France vs England
Competition	Six Nations Championship
Date	14 March 2026
Time	22:10 SAST
Venue	Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Recent Form

Team	Last 5 Matches
France	WWWWL
England	WWLLL

France began the Six Nations in a manner than told everyone that they were there to defend their title. The French cruised past Ireland in round one, thrashed Wales in round two and defeated Italy in round three. Unfortunately, with the title looking like it’s theirs, France lost at Murrayfield to Scotland last weekend to keep both the Scots and Irish in the running.

England began the campaign well, comfortably beating Wales but then fell to Scotland and Ireland. Last week, England lost to Italy for the first-time ever in their 30-year history.

Head-to-Head Record

Date	Fixture	Result	Competition
13 Mar 2021	England vs France	23-20	Six Nations
20 Mar 2022	France vs England	25-13	Six Nations
11 Mar 2023	England vs France	10-53	Six Nations
16 Mar 2024	France vs England	33-31	Six Nations
8 Feb 2025	England vs France	26-25	Six Nations

France beat England in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 Six Nations but in 2025 England ended that three-match losing streak by beating the French at Twickenham.

Team News

France: France have very few injuries to concern themselves with as Fabian Galthie has named an incredible side. The back division is dangerous, but the French pack is where the business usually gets done.

England: Fin Smith retains his place at 10 after a very wobbly performance last Saturday. The young 10 has shown plenty of promise but as with any young talent, ups and downs are par for the course.

France vs England Starting Lineups

France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Theo Attissogbe, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Antoine Dupont (captain), 8 Charles Ollivon, 7 Temo Matiu, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.

Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Hugo Auradou, 20 Mickael Guillard, 21 Joshua Brennan, 22 Baptiste Serin, 23 Emilien Gailleton.

England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Tommy Roebuck, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Guy Pepper, 6 Ollie Chessum, 5 Alex Coles, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jamie Georgie, 1 Ellis Genge.

Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Chandler Cunningham-South, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Jack van Poortvliet, 23 Marcus Smith.

Key Stats

France have won 3 of their last 4 matches.
France have won 3 of their last 4 matches against England.
France have won their last 4 home matches against England.
England have lost their last 3 matches.

Match Analysis

France are a brutal team to face, particularly up front. They have plenty of power and skill in the backline, but those players are normally set free once the forwards start getting some dominance. The French scrum is among the best in the world while their lineout and driving maul is also exceptional.

There really isn’t too much weakness within their side, but France do sometimes feel like they’re complacent. Last week, Scotland picked up the pace of the game, played around the ruck with quick offloads, keeping the French firmly pegged back.

France will be weary that scrum dominance far from guarantees victory but with their home crowd and the title on the line, they shouldn’t lack motivation.

England on the other had were on a 12-match winning streak coming into the Six Nations but since making it 12 in a row, have lost three on the spin.

In these games, the same England hunger has just not been present. The team kicked way too much, hoping on retrieving possession, a tactic brought to bear by South Africa back in 2019.

Unfortunately, Steve Borthwick is going to need something more against France. They will not only need to retain more possession, take it through more phases to pull the French defence in. If England hand France a lot fo set pieces, this game could be up by half time.

France are an incredibly good counter attacking side, so any aimless kicking from England could and probably would result in points.

The English will need a massive performance to even get close to France at the Stade de France.

Betting Markets to Watch

Handicap

France are favourites with -15.5 and priced at 2.00 to cover that. Despite England’s poor form, they are going to desperate, so I think they will get within that market.

Try Scorers

Louis Bielle-Biarrey is the top six nations try scorer thus far and in general, just a try-scoring machine.

Total Match Points

While the weather could play a crucial role, the total match points market is set at 60.5. I feel this will be an open game, even more so if a very motivated England side makes a strong start.

Verdict

France v England

Prediction:
England +15.5

Alternative Bet:
Louis Bielle-Biarrey first try scorer

England are in poor form and desperate for a big performance to close out the tournament while France is likely going to need a win to claim the title. While I believe France will get it done, I like England on +15.5.