"Le Crunch" - Six Most Memorable England vs France Matches Ahead of Six Nations Finale

Throughout their decorated history, England and France have met 110 times on a rugby pitch. The first meeting took place in 1906, and was a 8-35 away victory for England, in Paris' Parc des Princes. Since then, England have gone on to lead the all-time record over their rivals, with 60 victories, compared to France's 43.

Here are five historical hallmarks of the two vicious rivals, beginning of course with the fabled 'red mist' of 1992.

Tensions between England and France had reached a fever-pitch, ahead of their 1992 meeting at the Parc des Princes. Throughout the late 80s, France were running a mockery of England, with six unanswered wins. The sides met twice in 1991, as England retaliated with Five Nations and Rugby World Cup quarter-final triumphs.

Each of those matches brought physically aggressive undertones, with the 1992 meeting seeing the two sides reach boing point. For the first time in a Five Nations match, two players were sent off in the same game. For the time, this was the mark of a truly brutal contest, as red cards were much rarer to come by than in the modern game. The meeting in Paris is considered to be the most violent rugby match of all time, and can certainly back up the claims.

The 1992 Five Nations title hung in the balance, and Brian Moore previewed the match by stating how violence would be 'inevitable' in Paris. 'Pitbull' was right, with the matches' iconic moment being the altercation between Olivier Roumat and Wade Dooley. Roumat had punched Dooley unconscious, forcing the lock briefly off the field. As he left, Dooley insisted to the referee to not send Roumat off, so that Dooley could get his revenge later in the game.

The referee obliged Dooley's wishes, and Roumat went unpunished. The aforementioned duo of red cards went to France's Gregoire Lascube and Vincent Moscato, for sinnacle offenses that caused two mass brawls in Paris. Lascube stamped on the head of Martin Bayfield, and Moscato repeatedly headbutted Jeff Probyn, with both players recieving 28-week bans!

This was the long-awaited match for French rugby fans, as 'Les Bleus' finally overcame their old rivals at the Rugby World Cup. England had enjoyed a successful track record against France at the World Cup, stemming back to the earlier mentioned 1991 quarter-final victory.

England followed this up with semi-final success in 2003, as their 24-7 victory over France took them to the final, with Jonny Wilkinson's iconic drop goal bringing home the William Web Ellis Trophy. England repeated this feat in 2007, as they once again eliminated France from the Rugby World Cup, at the semi-final stage. This victory was even more bittersweet, as it took place in Paris.

Yet 2011 told a different story, as England and France met for a fourth consecutive time in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals. A shocking victory at the time, as France were seemingly self-imploding. A pool stage loss to Tonga saw France Head Coach Marc Lievremont heavily criticise his players in the mid-week media. However, France opened the scoring with 16 unanswered points, including Vincent Clerc and Maxime Medard's tries.

England attempted to forge a second half comeback, yet Mark Cueto's try came too late for Martin Johnson's side. Johnson's contract as England Head Coach expired just one month later, with Staurt Lancaster taking over the reigns until after the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

France and England fans will remember this match for polarizing reasons. French supporters were ecstatic to see their country claim their first Six Nations Grand Slam since 2010, yet England fans will never forget the time they were introduced to Antoine Dupont.

The scrum half was coronated in Paris, and ended his break-out Six Nations with another breath-taking performance. Rugby pundits and players had been aware of Dupont's talents, yet this Grand Slam sealing match saw the then 25-year-old break into the mainstream. The most causal of fans now know his name, and highlight him as a man to watch heading into this weekend.

Dupont played a part in each of France's four tries, and made his mark on the score-board too. Running onto the offload of Gregory Alldritt, as the back-rower crashed into contact, Dupont had open space to explode into the back-field. After a fend on Jamie George, the French captain outpaced Ben Youngs' tap tackle attempt to score.

A history making match for England, as the Red Roses won their fourth consecutive Six Nations title. The Grand Slam triumph in Bayonne, saw England also equal the record of all-time consecutive international wins, with 23 in a row. England would break the record in the same year's Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, with a 52-14 victory over the USA.

England and France met with the Grand Slam on the line in 2022, with both sides comfortably dismantling the other four nations on their way through to the final round. The stakes were perfectly set for a showcase of women's rugby, and the following match lived up to all expectations.

France shocked England with a try after just three minutes, as Romane Menager broke through the defence, and crashed over to score from close range. However, England stood firm and responded with three first half tries. Prop Sarah Bern grabbed a brace, scoring on either side of lock Abbie Ward's try.

The rolling maul was the choice set-piece of the day, with the French forwards dominated by the move, and were overpowered for three tries. England were able to resiliently see this lead out for the second half, despite a late consolation try from prop Annaelle Deshaye. Emily Scarratt added an extra three points from the boot, and ended the match by sending the ball sailing high into the stands.

On the 3rd March 1974, Turkish Airlines Flight 981 was set to fly from Paris to London Heathrow on a standard procedure journey. However, tragedy struck when the aircraft crashed in the Ermenonville Forest, with the 346 people on board all sadly losing their lives. A group of the passengers were part of amateur rugby club Bury St. Edmunds RFC, who were travelling home from watching the Five Nations match between England and France.

The two national sides honourably set up a fundraising match, which was held at Twickenham Stadium on the 20th April 1974. France came away victorious on the day, yet the on-field action was certainly overshadowed by the tragic event. In 2016, Bury St. Edmunds RFC unveiled a memorial to commemorate the incident, which saw 18 club members pass away. Each year, the rugby club pays tribute to those players and remembers the England vs France fixture that helped raise money for the families of all those who were involved.

This match highlights the power that rugby has in bringing people together, and raising money for a valuable cause. The England and France rivalry was forgotten about, with differences put aside to help the families and friends of those lost in the accident. A truly moving match, which will long be remembered in the history of these two great rugby nations.

We close out our picks with the most recent fixture, in what has gone down as a historic defeat for England upon home soil. The fourth round match of last year's Six Nations, saw France run riot on England, in what was an exhaustive afternoon for newly appointed head coach Steve Borthwick. The 43-point margin of defeat stands as England's heaviest ever loss at Twickenham, and was an emphatic statement from Les Bleus.

France came out of the gate on fire, and were over to score through Thomas Ramos little after one minute had surpassed. A trio of braces then followed for Fabien Galthie's side, as Charles Ollivon, Thibaud Flament and Damien Penaud all crossed over twice to build the seven-try scoreboard. Six successful conversions and two additional penalties, saw the metronomic kicking of Ramos extend the score-sheet far beyond anyone had ever seen from Twickenham visitors.

England's sole reply came early in the first half, when Freddie Steward crossed over for a try and Marcus Smith added the extras. The inclusion of Smith was a testing matter, as Borthwick dropped Owen Farrell to the bench for this fixture. The captaincy was then bestowed to Ellis Genge, in what has since gone on to be the Bristol prop's one and only time wearing the armband for his country.

The records continued to tumble, as France racked up their greatest amount of points against England, and beat the previous total of 37 points, which they set back in 1972. This match also set a new low for an England performance in the Six Nations, as it was the heaviest losing deficit in any contest, dating all the way through the Six, Five and Home Nations Championship.

A truly unforgettable low-point for England, in what was a turbulent start in the reign of Steve Borthwick. However, the former England lock has since turned his side around into a stronger outfit, and they are riding a wave of momentum into Lyon after racking up a stunning victory against Ireland. History is unlikely to repeat itself, due to France's mixed-bag of form and England's recent resurgence, as the two nations look to write the next chapter into their storied rivalry.