The focus of the rugby world may be elsewhere, but an England XV take on their France counterparts in an uncapped contest at Allianz Stadium Twickenham this afternoon.
Missing 13 players called up for the British and Irish Lions, Saturday’s fixture is a great chance for a number of hopefuls to stake their claim for a regular berth under Steve Borthwick ahead of a two-Test summer tour to Argentina next month that is followed by a one-off clash against the USA in Washington.
It is England’s first outing since the end of an eventful Six Nations in March, when they ended up finishing second after destroying sorry Wales 68-14 with a stunning 10-try blitz in Cardiff that was ultimately not enough to pip France, who sealed the title after defeating Scotland in Paris later on Super Saturday.
Borthwick’s side won their last four games in a row in the competition after being beaten by Ireland on opening weekend, brushing aside Italy as well as edging out both France and Scotland by a solitary point on home soil.
England will hope to continue that feel-good factor here despite the absence of so many of their key players including captain Maro Itoje, who will skipper the Lions in their farewell fixture against Argentina on Friday night and on the subsequent nine-match tour to Australia that includes three Tests with the Wallabies.
France coach Fabien Galthie has named an ‘A’ team squad that includes an intriguing mix of experience and youth and will be hoping to get some degree of revenge for England wrecking Les Bleus’ Grand Slam chances back in February, but he cannot call upon players involved in the Top 14 semi-finals.
England XV vs France XV date, kick-off time and venue
The game takes place this afternoon, Saturday June 21, 2025 with a 3:15pm BST kick-off time at Allianz Stadium Twickenham in south-west London.
How to watch England XV vs France XV
TV channel and live stream: Saturday’s match is being shown live via World Rugby’s streaming service RugbyPass TV, which is free if you create an account. Coverage begins at kick-off.
Live blog: Follow the action as it happens this weekend with Standard Sport’s live blog.
England XV vs France XV team news
Borthwick – who will announce his travelling group for the summer on June 23 – named a 36-player England training squad ahead of the game, though quickly saw former captain Jamie George and Sale prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour both depart to train with the Lions.
They were joined by Jack van Poortvliet, who is training in Dublin as specialist scrum-half cover for the injured Jamison Gibson-Park.
Starting on the wing is Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who is back fit after a shoulder injury that ruled him out of the Six Nations and initial Lions contention, having last played in December.
Sale full-back Joe Carpenter, Gloucester centre Seb Atkinson and Bath’s Premiership-winning flanker Guy Pepper are the three uncapped players in the starting XV, along with Harlequins duo Jack Kenningham and Oscar Beard on the bench.
Late Lions call? Immanuel Feyi-Waboso could yet prove himself worthy of a place on Australia tour
Andrew Matthews/PA Wire
Ben Curry, Fraser Dingwall, George Furbank and Harry Randall are all continuing their respective injury rehabilitations with England, but Ollie Lawrence remains absent along with the likes of Joe Batley, Alex Lozowski, George Martin and Ollie Sleightholme.
France’s experimental side is captained by Gael Fickou, with flying wing Theo Attissogbe starting at full-back and veteran prop Rabah Slimani playing an international for the first time in nearly six years.
The likes of Emilien Gailleton, Hugo Auradou, Mickael Guillard and Nolann Le Garrec also start, while there are debuts for Alivereti Duguivalu, Baptiste Erdocio, the Canada-born Tyler Duguid, Alexandre Fischer and Mael Moustin.
Guillaume Marchand, Paul Mallez, Jaco van Tonder and Leo Berdeu are also poised to make their France debuts off the bench.
England XV vs France XV lineups
England XV: Carpenter; Roebuck, Slade, Atkinson, Feyi-Waboso; Ford (co-c), Spencer; Baxter, George (co-c), Heyes; Coles, Isiekwe; Hill, Pepper, Willis
Replacements: Dan, Rodd, Davison, Cunningham-South, Kenningham, Dombrandt, Quirke, Beard
France XV: Attissogbe; Moustin, Gailleton, Fickou (c), Duguivalu; Hastoy, Le Garrec; Erdocio, Barlot, Slimani; Auradou, Duguid; Fischer, Tixeront, Guillard
Replacements: G Marchand, Mallez, Bamba, R Taofifenua, Van Tonder, Woki, Jauneau, Berdeu
England vs France head to head (h2h) history and results
England’s shock 26-25 win over France at a wet Twickenham back in February ended a run of three successive losses in Le Crunch, with Les Bleus having registered 53 points on their previous trip to HQ in 2023.
England XV vs France XV prediction
Despite no official caps being on offer, this is still a fascinating contest that should prove every bit as ferocious as a full Test with players on both sides hoping to prove their worth.
There are huge opportunities across the board for England during a Lions summer and Borthwick will be keen to strike a balance between youthful exuberance and crucial experience ahead of what will be a tough tour to Argentina.
Galthie is also experimenting, though has picked a backline packed full of try-scoring threat that may well prove too dangerous for the hosts to overcome.
France to win, by seven points.
England XV vs France XV match odds
Odds via William Hill (subject to change)
