KING BACKS ENGLAND FOR VICTORY IN PARIS
Alex King is backing England to prove all the doubters wrong against France on Saturday at the Stade de France. The former Wasps fly-half, who made three appearances for England, believes Brian Ashton's team will reproduce their World Cup semi-final heroics when they defeated Les Bleus 14-9 at the same venue.
King, who plays for Clermont Auvergne in France, said: "Everyone is writing England off for the Six Nations now - they are huge underdogs this weekend.
"France have had all the praise from the media and anyone in the rugby world, as they have rediscovered their attacking flair.
"But in their last 30 minutes against Ireland they were pretty dire. If the game had been five or ten minutes longer, they would have lost the game.
"England can take heart from that and the fact that France are not the complete package yet. They have nothing to lose. It's a similar situation to the World Cup semi-final - no one expected them to win, and that will give them more freedom to play.
"They have 80 minutes to salvage their Six Nations. If England win this they could go on to win the championship, and what a turn around that would be.
"These boys love nothing better than being underdogs and proving everyone wrong."
While London Irish back Shane Geraghty has been ruled out of the France game through knee trouble, King is delighted that his old team-mate and flanker Joe Worsley should feature after a long injury lay-off.
"I'm really pleased for Joe," he added. "It's great to see him back in action and against Bath at the weekend he played really well. He brings a dynamic edge to the back row."
Alex King is backing England to prove all the doubters wrong against France on Saturday at the Stade de France. The former Wasps fly-half, who made three appearances for England, believes Brian Ashton's team will reproduce their World Cup semi-final heroics when they defeated Les Bleus 14-9 at the same venue.
King, who plays for Clermont Auvergne in France, said: "Everyone is writing England off for the Six Nations now - they are huge underdogs this weekend.
"France have had all the praise from the media and anyone in the rugby world, as they have rediscovered their attacking flair.
"But in their last 30 minutes against Ireland they were pretty dire. If the game had been five or ten minutes longer, they would have lost the game.
"England can take heart from that and the fact that France are not the complete package yet. They have nothing to lose. It's a similar situation to the World Cup semi-final - no one expected them to win, and that will give them more freedom to play.
"They have 80 minutes to salvage their Six Nations. If England win this they could go on to win the championship, and what a turn around that would be.
"These boys love nothing better than being underdogs and proving everyone wrong."
While London Irish back Shane Geraghty has been ruled out of the France game through knee trouble, King is delighted that his old team-mate and flanker Joe Worsley should feature after a long injury lay-off.
"I'm really pleased for Joe," he added. "It's great to see him back in action and against Bath at the weekend he played really well. He brings a dynamic edge to the back row."
Labels: Alex King, Brian Ashton, England, France, rugby union, Six Nations
