Steve Borthwick (England): “We will try to compete” against France

Steve Borthwick, England manager: “Ellis Genge is a natural leader, a leader by example. He doesn’t necessarily talk a lot on the pitch, but he is very committed, puts a lot of passion into everything he does and thus shows the way to his teammates. He’s an aggressive and intelligent player, too, who has improved his physical skills over the years. We will see if his captaincy is called to last over time. Ellis will be our captain tomorrow (Saturday) against France, he will give his best and we will see what happens next.

What do I expect from France? For me, it’s a team that still has a big “contest” in the ground game, a very long foot game and a very physical and aggressive defense. We know how solid they are physically and very good tactically. For us, it will be a huge opportunity to measure ourselves physically against such a team, a real test. We had three matches in this tournament to define the way we wanted to play, while the French have been working on their game plan for much longer. We know the threat that this team represents, we know that it is home to many top players, that Dupont is a remarkable rugby player, that half of the players also play for clubs in the same team, in Toulouse, but we will try to compete and to win the game. »