Does England's defence put winning streak at risk?

"We know that France are going to come at us in any which way, shape and form.

"Naturally when there is change, there will be more knowledge in some places than the others, so it about bringing everyone up to speed."

Less line breaks, more points - a positive?

The Red Roses' defence, coached by former captain Sarah Hunter, may be down in the key scoreboard statistics, but it has improved in other areas.

Compared with last year's championship, England have conceded 1.3 fewer line breaks per game.

Ordinarily, conceding fewer line breaks should lead to fewer points being scored, but Mitchell's side have instead been punished for defensive lapses.

Debutant Haidee Head was too slow to react as Italy broke clear from a ruck to score their fifth try on Saturday, while their third score also came directly from a clean break at a breakdown.

Full-back Kayleigh Powell slipped through a number of Red Roses tackles to help set up Wales' fourth try in round three, while Rhona Lloyd streaked clear of Jess Breach to score Scotland's only try at Murrayfield.

Given France's ability to attack from deep, England will need to improve their scramble defence after line breaks.

Attack the best form of defence?

Les Bleues have conceded 49 points across four rounds - the best defensive record in this year's championship.

Usually, it is England, who have not been beaten in the tournament since 2018, topping the statistics heading into the Grand Slam decider.

Scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus remains instrumental to France, joint-leading the combined standings for tries and assists, with seven in this year's championship.

Wales scrum-half Keira Bevan sniped and scored to exploit England's pillar defence around the ruck - an area Bourdon Sansus will certainly look to target after Italy also scored twice directly from breaks at the breakdown.

The 30-year-old, who is second for break assists with eight, remains a livewire in attack after starring for France across a number of campaigns.

Full-back Pauline Barrat trails only England star Ellie Kildunne for metres gained in the competition, with the pair the only players to have registered more than 400 metres.

The 21-year-old has made seven line breaks - four fewer than leader Kildunne - and tops the standings for break assists with 11.

If France are to exploit England's vulnerable defence, then Bourdon Sansus and Barrat could be the players to do so.

The electric pace of Lea Murie, who scored a stunning try against Scotland, could also be a major threat on the left wing - if given space.

For Mitchell's side, Kildunne, 26, continues to shine at full-back and on the left wing, where she has started two games.

Harlequins' Kildunne has made the most carries (58), gained the most metres (477), produced the most line breaks (11) and made the most offloads (10) in the competition.

With a large crowd expected at the 42,115-capacity Stade Atlantique, and given the history of the fixture, a high-scoring game that does not rely on watertight defence could suit both sides.

That would certainly favour Kildunne, who has scored three tries in this year's championship, and may also offer the Red Roses a way around their shaky defence amid ongoing personnel changes.

Figure caption,

France hammer Scotland to go level on points with England