The Betway ambassador says England's game management will secure Grand Slam by turning home crowd against their own team
Eddie Jones has taken an England team with an abundance of talent and maximised their ability to control a game, and that is what has now put them on the brink of a Grand Slam.
Before Saturday everybody was talking about Wales’ big-match experience, but they just could not get a foothold at Twickenham. For that you have to give England a lot of credit.
They had quality possession, kept hold of the ball, did not make many errors and put Wales under lots of pressure – the same blueprint that they have used against all of their opposition so far.
Taking risks has its rewards
As a result, Wales were forced to throw caution to the wind from within their own 22 – and it was encouraging to see how much success they had in doing so.
Often that is the best place on the pitch to have a go at running the ball. The opposition back three tends to drop back in anticipation of a kick so there is easy space out wide to be exploited.
Wales must be wondering why they did not chance their arm sooner because it could have been a very different game.
Having that bravery to give the ball some air is the biggest difference Southern and Northern Hemisphere rugby, and you would like to think that more teams will see how the rewards of being more unpredictable can often outweigh the risk.
No need to fear France
England now have a great opportunity to seal the Grand Slam and it would be remarkable if they did not come away from France with the win.
Paris used to be a tough place to go but it is not somewhere to fear playing anymore.
The French crowd is a very unique thing. They want to see expressive rugby and have this mob – almost gladiatorial – mentality in the way that they can turn against their own team as quickly as the opposition.
They want to see expressive rugby and France did show some more nice flashes against Scotland, albeit in a losing cause.
Spoiling the party
The French will go into the game with nothing to lose and their team-talk beforehand will take care of itself.
I know from personal experience just how much teams can relish having the chance to spoil your party.
At Murrayfield in 2000 we were comfortably up before a hurricane arrived to completely change the feeling of the game as we lost momentum.
Before playing Ireland at Lansdowne Road in 2001 we were playing some of the best rugby we had ever played but were probably guilty of not respecting the processes you need to go through to win a game and forcing it too much.
New England
I don’t see this team making the same mistakes, however.
Eddie Jones and Steve Borthwick are always very methodical about their preparation during the week, which is where the game really starts.
In Dylan Hartley they have the perfect captain for this sort of occasion who will not take a backwards step.
England will simply continue with the same strategy that has worked throughout the tournament so far by making a strong start, getting some points on the board and frustrating the French.
I fully expect them to exert the same control at the weekend, and a Grand Slam win would be just rewards for mastering the approach so quickly.
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