England vs France Six Nations: how to watch 2023 rugby clash - TV channel, live stream, kick off and team news

The 2023 Six Nations Championship returns this weekend after the second and last bye-week and fans will be treated to one of the most competitive matches in the sport which has earned the name ‘Le Crunch’.

Steve Borthwick’s England welcome reigning Grand Slam champions Frances to Twickenham in a match that could have serious implications in the race to the 2023 title. Both sides have won two and lost one so far and need victory to give them a chance of lifting the trophy going into the final round of matches. Defeat almost certainly ends any chance of that and could also potentially be a momentum blow ahead of the World Cup later this year so there is certainly plenty to play for. Here is everything you need to know about how to watch the match on TV and online and the early team news from both camps:

England vs France Six Nations 2023 date, kick off time and venue

England vs France will be the second of the round four matches, following on from Italy vs Wales earlier in the day, and is due to kick off at 4:45pm (UK time) on Saturday, Match 11. The match will be played at Twickenham Stadium, London and the last time Les Bleus visited the English capital it ended in a narrow 23-20 win for the home team.

Last year’s meeting between the two in Paris was the final fixture of the 2022 Championship and saw France capture the Grand Slam with a 25-13 victory. Overall, the two nations have played each other 109 times in Test matches with England winning 60, France 42 and there being seven draws.

What channel is England vs France Six Nations match on?

England vs France will be shown live in the UK on ITV and STV with build up starting from 4:15pm (UK time), 30 minutes ahead of kick off. J Mark Pougatch will present the coverage from Twickenham with Jonny Wilkinson, Clive Woodward and Benjamin Kayser providing commentary.

England vs France Six Nations live stream

England vs France can be watched online via ITVX or the STV Player (Scotland). The match can also be live streamed via the ITVX and STV Player (Scotland) apps which are available to download in most mainstream app stores.

England vs France Six Nations team news

Steve Borthwick has dropped captain Owen Farrell to the bench with Marcus Smith set to return at stand off for the match with France. Ellis Genge, who has ben a stand out for his country at this year’s Championship, takes the armband. Here is the England team to play France:

Starting XV: 15. Freddie Steward, 14. Max Malins, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Ollie Lawrence, 11. Anthony Watson, 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Jack van Poortvliet, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Ollie Chessum, 6. Lewis Ludlam, 7. Jack Willis, 8. Alex Dombrandt.Replacements: 16. Jack Walker, 17. Mako Vunipola, 18. Dan Cole, 19. David Ribbans, 20. Ben Curry, 21. Alex Mitchell, 22. Owen Farrell, 23. Henry Arundell.

France have made three changes from the side that beat Scotland in round three with Dorian Aldegheri replacing the suspended Mohamed Haouas, François Cros taking the place of the injured Anthony Jelonch and Jonathan Danty recovering from injury to make his first start of this year’s competition in place of Yoram Moefana. Here is the France team to play England:

Starting XV: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Ethan Dumortier, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 1 Cyril Baille, 2 Julien Marchand, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 4 Thibaud Flament, 5 Paul Willemse, 6 François Cros, 7 Charles Ollivon, 8 Grégory Alldritt. Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Sipili Falatea, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Sekou Macalou, 21 Maxime Lucu, 22 Yoram Moefana, 23 Melvyn Jaminet.