Wales and Wasps coach Shaun Edwards puts forward his belief that England must beat France to silence their critics and move on in The Guardian.
"Four years ago France, with their coach under the cosh as his side wobbled unsteadily towards World Cup disappointment on home soil, were at Twickenham in the Six Nations and by half-time they were being blown away. England had scored two tries and if Charlie Hodgson and Olly Barkley had not missed a couple of kicks apiece, would have been out of sight. However, at 17–6 there were few reasons to doubt a home victory.
"Then the discipline question cropped up: England let theirs go while France got their act together. It seems that during the interval the defence coach Dave Ellis, once of Gloucester and now of Brive, read the riot act. In effect he gave the French a couple of seconds to contest the breakdown, then they had to get their hands out. And do it in a very obvious way.
"The referee, Paddy O'Brien, then a veteran of 37 Tests and now head of the international board's referees panel, clearly liked the change and turned his attentions to English indiscretions at the breakdown rather than French ones. Dimitri Yachvili kicked four second-half penalties, England lost by a point and France proved conclusively to any doubters that discipline can be coached – in fact can be coached on the hoof.
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