France’s weak point

F

Player with ball

Possible ball movement

Ball movement

C

A

11

13

10

9

14

12

F

B

Unlike England, who like to have a number of ball-carrying options available to keep the opposition defence guessing, France have relied on sending individual big men up the channel (A), before trying to offload out of the tackle.

The trouble is that this makes them easy to read, which allows more than one defender to commit to the tackle (B). This in turn makes the offload (C) out of the tackle more difficult, and the chance of a turnover higher

Player with ball

Possible ball movement

Ball movement

F

C

A

11

13

10

9

14

12

F

B

than one defender to commit to the tackle (B). This in turn makes the offload (C) out of the tackle more difficult, and the chance of a turnover higher

on sending individual big men up the channel (A), before trying to offload out of the tackle. The trouble is that this makes them easy to read, which allows more

Unlike England, who like to have a number of ball-carrying options available to keep the opposition defence guessing, France have relied