Fresh from the record defeat to Ireland, England's finest departed to fight a needlessly brutal skirmish on a completely different front. The result? Injuries to their captain, their principle tactician and their midfield enforcer.

With the breaches walled up with makeshift alternatives, the English will endeavour to defend Twickenham from a French side that is not only well rested but within sniffing distance of a Grand Slam.

Going on this evidence, this weekend's battle will be more Isandlwana than Agincourt.

It seems unfair to write off a team before the first boot is laced, but England brought this situation on themselves. In truth, Sunday's game was lost many months ago.

Whilst other sides have spent the last three years patiently grafting fresh talent onto a coherent core, England have lurched from one stop-gap solution to the next. A succession of coaches and officials have selected players and policies in the manner of an idiot picking lottery numbers, seemingly carried along by the ludicrous belief that one random combination will eventually bear fruit.

Yes, England has been unlucky with injuries, but you make your own luck at the top of level of sport: their pain is all self-induced.

Only the French are forced to play more rugby than the English, yet they have had the good sense to cease domestic hostilities for the duration of the Six Nations.

No chance of such sense spilling forth from English officials seemingly hell-bent on extracting the last filing of ore from their rapidly deleting reserves of iron. It's completely unsustainable, wholly unethical and verging on pure exploitation - one almost feels compelled to ask Bob and Bono to intervene.

But not all of England's problems can be explained away by injury and player fatigue.

Like an aging Lothario, the world champions appear to have developed an all-consuming fear of commitment since that heady night in Sydney. Their only constant over the last three years has been their inconsistent selections.

Think of the number of players who have been ditched after the merest sniff of Test rugby. What was their crime, save being unable to play like a seasoned superstar on debut?

Think of Anthony Allen and how he must have felt on seeing Mike Catt being ferried from the bingo hall to England's midfield.

And think of James Simpson-Daniel - why on earth has he not been given the chance to build on his nine caps?

And what of the likes of Chris Jones, Ryan Lamb, Pete Richards, Mark van Gisbergen, Tom Voyce, Alex Brown, Paul Sackey, Andy Titterrell, Pat Sanderson, Olly Barkley, Ayoola Erinle, Nick Walshe, Michael Lipman, Dan Scarbrough, Kevin Yates, Hugh Vyvyan and Andy Hazell?

Not so long ago, England suffered a calamitous 76-0 loss to Australia. That was Jonny Wilkinson's first full game for his country. A baby-faced Phil Vickery also featured in that Test, as did a virginal Josh Lewsey. Should the babes have been tossed out with the dishwater? Current policy would have it so, but Clive Woodward (for all his later foibles) persisted with the youngsters and his faith was duly repaid - fivefold.

Even the great Dan Carter had a shaky debut session. The intricacies of Graham Henry's newfangled 'flat-attack system' were blamed for the fly-half's early collywobbles, but in truth it was just a case of an inexperienced young man getting his eye in at the highest level. Should he have been dropped after a handful of starts?

To its credit, the new England regime is willing enough to give youngsters a bite at the Test cherry, but it appears to be utterly opposed to the laying down of roots.

The likes of Toby Flood, David Strettle, Nick Easter and Tom Rees will get their chance on Sunday. Will they still be in the XV for next week's finale against Wales? Don't bet on it. Will the experience of being bounced about aid their development? Of course not.

No, the French have nothing to fear at Twickenham. Yes, they have been know to indulge in the odd bout of rabbit-in-the-headlights, but they are now moving forwards with purpose and with growing confidence.

Man for man, across the park, the depleted English come off a distinct second in all areas of play - class, experience, poise, skill, physical stature.

Look, for example, at noble Martin Corry gamely filling a berth in England's engine room. Why? If France can afford to plonk an out-and-out lock of Pascal Papé pedigree on the bench, why can't England field two?

Myopic selection policies and Enron-esque administrative techniques have denied England a side worthy of supporting. The fans have the right to feel cheated and they have the right to demand more.

Even Bernard Laporte feels short-changed. Asked to analyse England's decline since 2003, the France coach couldn't muster any of the usual pre-match platitudes. It seems 'le crunch' is not what it was once cracked up to be.

"England were strong at the time of the World Cup because they had players who were the best in the world," he said.

"Martin Johnson was enormous, Jonny Wilkinson - at the time - was a monster, their front row was enormous, Neil Back was a monster.

"People couldn't care less if it was Clive Woodward who was coaching them or my grandfather. The important people are the ones who are on the field.

"I'm not saying that today's England players are bad players but they are not the best players in the world any more."

It's tempting to wax lyrical about the bulldog spirit and about how the English are at their best when they have their backs against the wall, but not even St. Crispin would be able to save England on Sunday.

In truth, the best result for England's long-term future is another utter humiliation.

The guardians of English rugby have not so much killed the goose the laid the golden egg as picked the last morsel of flesh from its carcass. Maybe, just maybe, another record defeat will rouse the old farts from their brandy-induced stupor and force them to address some of the fundamental problems that plague the English game.

Wishful thinking, of course, but what else have England fans got?

Ones to watch:

For England: All eyes will be on Toby Flood, Jonny Wilkinson's club understudy who now assumes the mantle of JW's national understudy. The languid fly-half has an eye for the gap and a rugby brain beyond his tender years. Moreover, the 21-year-old is not likely to panic in the spotlight, he comes from a family of actors - one grandfather featured in The Guns of Navarone and the other appeared as a robot in Dr Who. He'll also benefit immeasurably by having Mike Catt beside him. The new England captain, now on what seems to be his twelfth international life, is likely to shoulder much of Flood's workload. And with a full 14 years separating the fly-half from the inside-centre, it is likely that Catt's half-time chat will focus as much on territory and possession as it will on the birds and the bees. Look out, too, for the hulking figure of Tom Palmer. The Wasps lock once played for New Zealand Schools. Any other similarities with Martin Johnson will be gratefully received by the Twickenham faithful.

For France: Biarritz scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili wins his first start of the 2007 Six Nations, and it is no surprise that the elevation comes ahead of Sunday's clash. The debonair playmaker, who spent a season with Gloucester, is England's bête noire having scored 19 points against them in 2004, 18 points in 2005 and 16 points in 2006. Elsewhere, Sébastian Chabal, no stranger to England fans, returns to the French XV after missing out against Wales. He will be looking to get stuck into England's fresh-faced pack, picking up from where the Irish left off. Meanwhile, indestructible Raphaël Ibañez, still going strong after all these years, will also be keen to make a lasting impression on the sternums of some of his club colleagues.

Head to head: Jason Robinson (England) v Christophe Dominici (France): Perhaps a couple of seasons past their prime, but still two very exciting players to watch. Both men were equipped by the same armourer and will be eager to dance, shimmy and twist their way through two decidedly top-heavy backlines.

Prediction: England's early heroics to be summarily snuffled out by a thoughtful French performance. France by 18 points.

Recent results:

2006: France won 31-6 at Stade de France, Paris
2005: France won 18-17 at Twickenham, London
2004: France won 24-21 at Stade de France, Paris
2003: England won 24-7 at Stadium Australia, Sydney (RWC)
2003: England won 45-14 at Twickenham, London
2003: France won 17-16 in Marseille
2003: England won 25-17 at Twickenham, London
2002: France won 20-15 at Stade de France, Paris
2001: England won 48-19 at Twickenham, London
2000: England won 15-9 at Stade de France, Paris

The teams:

England: 15 Josh Lewsey, 14 Jason Robinson, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Mike Catt (captain), 11 David Strettle, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Harry Ellis, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Tom Rees, 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Martin Corry, 3 Julian White, 2 George Chuter, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Lee Mears, 17 Stuart Turner, 18 Louis Deacon, 19 Magnus Lund, 20 Shaun Perry, 21 Shane Geraghty, 22 Mathew Tait.

France: 15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 David Marty, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Christophe Dominici, 10 David Skréla, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Sébastian Chabal, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Serge Betsen, 5 Jérôme Thion, 4 Lionel Nallet, 3 Pieter de Villiers, 2 Raphaël Ibañez (captain), 1 Olivier Milloud.
Replacements: 16 Sébastian Bruno, 17 Nicolas Mas, 18 Pascal Papé, 19 Imañol Harinordoquy, 20 Pierre Mignoni, 21 Lionel Beauxis, 22 Cédric Heymans.

Date: Sunday, March 11
Time: 15:00 GMT
Venue: Twickenham
Conditions: Sunny, dry, moderate southerly wind - max 15°C , min 7°C
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Touch judges: Alain Rolland (Ireland), Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Television match official: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
Assessor: Steve Hilditch (Ireland)

By Andy Jackson