Six Nations 2024: England previews France's record defeat last year, says Jamie George

Captain Jamie George says England have previewed footage from last year's record home defeat to France as they prepare for revenge in the Six Nations.

George described England's 53-10 defeat at Twickenham as one of the “darkest days” of his career.

England have not beaten France away from home since they last won a Grand Slam in 2016, and George says they “knew what was coming” in Lyon.

“We looked at last year's game this week,” George told BBC Sport.

“We won't be stupid either. It was one of the darkest days of my career and this is not what English rugby should be about.

“We were lagging behind by a large percentage, and when you have such a bad performance against a team like France, you know that you deserve to lose.”

France have been far from their best without influential full-back duo Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, but Georges says the heavyweight squad remains a strength.

France made several changes in the second half to their attackers to gain momentum and beat Wales in their final match.

“They're at the forefront with the most physical power in the world at the moment,” 33-year-old hooker George added.

“Their team won the game in the end against Wales. It was a very close game after 60 minutes but the bench that came in broke up the Wales pack.

“France have a lot of heavyweight big men but we have to stick to our guns and take it to them.”

England arrives in Lyon after defeating defending champions Ireland to keep their weak title ambitions alive. They could still win the tournament if they beat France by a bonus point and Ireland fail to collect a point against Scotland.

Steve Borthwick's side beat Ireland 3-2 in tries after playing with more attacking intent than previously in this year's competition.

George says the plan won't change in the final part of “Le Crunch.”

He added: “We will not change our way of playing because of who we face.

“In the World Cup, we had a strong kicking game, our set pieces were very good and we connected well defensively.

“But now, we want to increase the speed of the line and get back behind the ball as an option to play and face teams.

“Sometimes in the first games of my England career, you might have felt a little restricted by the plan. We have the freedom to express ourselves and use our incredibly talented players with the ball in our hands.

“I'm excited to finish our Six Nations on a high…. It puts a smile on my face when I think about what we can achieve on Saturday.”