18 March 2023 , 08:17
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French players have spoken about being left “astounded” by how soft England were after they dished out a Twickenham battering last weekend.
Charles Ollivon, Thibaud Flament and Damian Penaud each scored two tries apiece as France secured their first win at England's home since 2005. Steve Borthwick's side appeared overwhelmed by the weight and tenacity of a hulking French pack, which dominated the breakdown in almost one-sided fashion at times.
Former England No 8 Nick Easter has now revealed that the French were "astounded" by the lack of physicality their opponents had. He told The Telegraph: “This is the smallest, least physical forward pack I have ever seen in England."
"Not only that but it has been stated by the opposition. I spoke to a couple of French players after the game and I won’t name names but they were astounded by the lack of physicality
“Someone else I know spoke to some of the Scotland lads after the first game and they told him that they had never played against an English pack as unphysical."
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Before Christmas, England were humiliated again by an under-strength South Africa losing 13-27 in the Autumn Nations Series - which culminated in the dismissal of Eddie Jones. The England pack was again highlighted as a weakness by the Springboks who bullied their hosts.
Damian Penaud celebrates after scoring for France during their 53-10 victory at Twickenham (Getty Images)Do you think England's problems are down to the strength of their forwards? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section
"Then you have South Africans saying that scrummaging against England props is like scrummaging against a pillow," added Easter.
“I know people will say England were 10kg heavier in the forwards but we all know people put fake weights down on the programme. All you have to do is open your eyes.
"Look at Charles Ollivon and Gregory Alldritt versus our back row or Paul Willemse and Thibaud Flament versus our second row. Open your eyes rather than looking at the numbers.”
England's forwards will again be tested against Ireland in Dublin and will be without lock Ollie Chessum - who will undergo surgery after dislocating his ankle in training. David Ribbans comes into the second row to replace Chessum but Easter fears that England have a 'real issue' in their forward pack.
England lock Ollie Chessum has been ruled out of England's match against Ireland (PA)“No matter how bad we have been in the past, we have always had a forward pack,” Easter added. “Producing forwards and physicality has never been a problem for England. Now it is embarrassing to watch.
“Yeah we have struggled at fly-half, inside centre and openside but those are perennial problems. We have never had a problem producing tighthead props or monster locks or physical back rowers. There’s a real issue now within the system."