Wind-ups not the key to unlocking French

The response from Pc Wade Dooley, our erstwhile enforcer, was: "Great lads, just keep kicking them."

It took the French a long time to recognise that one of our main weapons was just to wind them up so they stopped playing and wanted to fight. As my career came to a conclusion, they were much harder to get going and by the end they were well disciplined and that was a bad sign.

In the last couple of matches between the teams, I don't get the impression that England can put the French off their game by getting inside their heads like Mooro used to.

Instead, the current French side have been pilloried by their own rugby president and press and that is why the opening 15 minutes will be absolutely crucial at Twickenham on Saturday. If England can really put the pressure on France, maintain their excellent defensive line and frustrate the opposition, then cracks could appear in their fragile self-belief.

However, if the French manage to produce something positive in the opening phases then their confidence will be boosted and they will start believing they really can win. Then, it could become a very long and hard afternoon for England.

I made the mistake of dismissing the French during the 1999 World Cup after their poor form in opening games and when it came to the semi-final with New Zealand, I decided to stay at home rather than use my ticket. What a great judge of rugby I am! I really thought that France would be a joke. I sat back and watched the television coverage as France took New Zealand apart. It was a classic case of ripping up the form book and producing a world-class performance from nowhere. That's what worries me about Saturday's match, but this time I will be using my ticket, although I really hope they don't do it again.

This match offers Steve Borthwick a chance to make a name for himself as replacement for the injured Danny Grewcock. He comes into the team in similar circumstances to Martin Johnson's debut, against France in 1993.

I didn't know much about Martin when he turned up. I tried to have a chat, but he was very quiet and just sat in the meeting and listened. I asked Dean Richards about Jonno and his reply was: "He's a good lad and will do his job." Jonno did it so well he was unlucky not to remain in the team for the whole championship season.

In that instance, Jonno was replacing Wade who was the senior partner in the second row, and Borthwick is taking over from Grewcock, another very good young lock. It is Jonno who is now the old hand and the man who acts as enforcer if things get a little lively. That should help Borthwick deal with his first cap and the pressure the French are going to put on him, especially at the line-out.

For Borthwick, the build-up to this match must appear quite settled because there is no French-baiting to read about. The preparations are now quite sanitised because you don't want to give the opposition anything to feed off. What Mooro did was to offer the French a little bait and see if they would nibble before what always was the game to play in.

The challenge of beating the French brought the best out of us and I hope the same is true at Twickenham on Saturday.