image source, Getty Images
- author, mantei man
- role, bbc sports journalist
Women's Six Nations: France vs England
venue: Stade Chaban Delmas (Bordeaux) date: Saturday, April 27th kick off: 16:45 BST
coverage: Watch live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and online. Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra. Read text commentary, highlights and reports on his BBC Sport website and app.
Alex Matthews says England will “grow” through the expected intense atmosphere at Saturday's Women's Six Nations Grand Slam decider in France.
The Red Roses have not lost in 28 Six Nations games since losing to France in Grenoble in 2018.
England are aiming for a third successive Grand Slam title with four high-scoring bonus-point wins at this year's tournament, but expect to face their biggest test against undefeated France in Bordeaux.
No. 8 Matthews says France are “definitely going to show up” against England given their strong domestic support.
“They are [France] “We're definitely going to see things we've never seen before in the last few weeks,” Matthews said. “We'll give it our all and hope that's what we need.”
“We love being booed. I went for my 50th cap with the whole crowd booing me and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
“We want to prove a point and shut the crowd up early, so the girls will thrive.”
Leaders England have scored 38 tries in their opening four games, twice as many as second-place France (19 tries).
France fought back energetically in the second half, but Matthews says England are an even better team 12 months on under Middleton's replacement John Mitchell.
“Everyone is playing with a smile on their face,” Matthews added.
“We all have the freedom to play heads-up rugby and if something comes up we will play it.
“I'm not talking about last year. We're a different team now, with a different style of play and more depth.
“As we head into the weekend, we are just focused on ourselves. We want to get off to a strong start and then work together as a team of 23 players.”
Matthews' confidence was echoed by England assistant coach Lewis Deacon, who said Mitchell was “leading the strategy” for the Roses.
“The girls are walking into that environment and enjoying the challenge,” Deacon said.
“It was my first experience [coaching] It was a great atmosphere when we went with Roses in Bayonne two years ago, so the girls want it again.
“We talk about preparing for it and enjoying it. We train in noise, so the girls are used to communicating at that noise level.”
“We're blessed with a good depth of players, and we're able to play 15 against 15 in training, which is very competitive. Sometimes it's even tougher than in games.”
“This made the players more competitive and allowed them to train at a higher level than ever before.”
