Event of the Day: England versus France
Our event of the day is the Six Nations fixture between England and France at Twickenham. England began their campaign with a rousing upset over Ireland last weekend while France’s poor form continued as they lost to Wales in their first match. A monumental task faces the French, as they haven’t won at Twickenham since 2005. Be sure you don’t miss today’s match as France try to upset a high-flying England. The memories of the England’s fraught 2018 season were left on the field at the Aviva Stadium last weekend. Despite a history of failure in Dublin, they routed the defending champions 32-20. England set the tone for the night as Jonny May scored inside the first two minutes. That try was the first for England at the Aviva since 2011. Ireland had no answer for England’s wing and kick driven offense, allowing England to make a statement about how they will compete in this year’s competition. Meanwhile, France opened their campaign with a loss for the third straight year. They fell to a late surge by Wales in front of a home crowd in Paris, 24-19.
The England-France rivalry dates back to 1910, when France joined the Home Nations Championship to make it the Five Nations. The all-time record stands at 49 wins for England, 32 for France and 6 draws. When the teams met last year in Paris, an undisciplined England team gave up five penalties and a penalty try to give the hosts a 22-16 victory. However, this is not the woeful 2018 English side that France will face tonight. This afternoon, Chris Ashton will replace Jack Nowell at wing, marking Ashton’s first Six Nations appearance since 2013. Ashton was convinced that he would never play for England again, even going as far as to take work as a television analyst at last year’s competition. However, he is motivated and coach Eddie Jones believes that Ashton can be used to put some early points on the board for England. France are the underdogs as they travel to London for today’s game. In the era of the Six Nations, they have won once at Twickenham, back in 2005. Beyond the Six Nations, France have won three of their last twelve fixtures, their last win coming in November against Argentina as part of the Autumn Internationals. England began this competition by recording an upset so maybe today France will continue the competition by doing the same. This is a match you will not want to miss.
Honourable mentions around the globe go to the Premier League, where Manchester City host Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. Manchester City will need to beat fifth place Chelsea in order to regain their position atop the table after Liverpool rousing win over Bournemouth yesterday. City and Liverpool are locked in a battle for first place and every point and goal matters from this point forwards. Chelsea came through with a 5-0 win over Huddersfield to snap a two-game league losing streak. Furthermore, it was Chelsea who ended City’s unbeaten season late in 2018. Expect an exciting match tonight. Elsewhere, in the NBA, the Philadelphia 76ers host the LA Lakers at the Wells Fargo Center. In the NHL, the New York Islanders host the Minnesota Wild at the Barclays Center. On the PGA tour, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am concludes at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Del Monte Forest, California. In snooker, the World Grand Prix concludes in Cheltenham. The final of the Sofia Open takes place at the Armeec Arena.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Photos by Six Nations Rugby