England v France: Autumn Nations Cup final preview, free betting tips & TV

Free rugby union tips, best bets and analysis for England v France in the Autumn Nations Cup final on Sunday.

Where to watch

Amazon Prime, 2pm Sunday

Best bet

England to win by 11 to 20 points
1pt 5-2 Betfair, Paddy Power

Match preview

England have been given a huge boost in their bid to win the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup after opponents France were forced to name a weakened team, but they may struggle to pull off the convincing win bookmakers are expecting.

Head coach Fabien Galthie was able to call on all his top players for the group stage of this tournament, but due to restrictions on playing time imposed by the French Top 14, most are unavailable for the final fixture.

While England's starting line-up boasts a combined tally of 813 caps, the French team have just 68 between them. Full-back Bruce Dulin has 30 of those, and the second-highest tally is seven.

The upshot is that England are around 17-point favourites, a line they have surpassed in three of their last seven victories over France at Twickenham.

There's plenty of attacking edge in this England team, with Anthony Watson replacing Jonathan Joseph on one wing, while Jonny May, who has bagged six tries in his last three run-outs against France, is on the other flank.

The France line-up will contain a few unfamiliar faces, but they are still sure to put up a fight, particularly in defence where Shaun Edwards has made a huge contribution to their increased discipline and rigour.

England's attack has struggled to find a spark, and although they opened their autumn campaign with big wins over Italy and Georgia, they never hit top gear in those contests, which were followed by more workmanlike performances in an 18-7 win over Ireland and last week's 34-13 win in Wales.

The performance at Parc y Scarlets saw little running with ball in hand, which was understandable in difficult conditions.

But a physical France side are unlikely to give them much room to work with, and although England should win again, a more modest margin of 11 to 20 points looks the best bet.

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