Il Messaggiere - Dupont glad England have barred Toulouse team-mate Willis from 'Le Crunch'

Superb scrum-half Dupont and impressive back-row forward Willis were both members of a star-studded Toulouse team that completed a domestic Top 14 and European Champions Cup double last season.

But while Dupont will lead France this weekend, England coach Steve Borthwick cannot select Willis because of a Rugby Football Union (RFU) regulation barring players at overseas clubs from international duty.

Dupont, asked if he was taken aback by England's refusal to pick French-based players, told a Twickenham press conference on Friday: "I'm a bit surprised, but I'm quite happy not to be playing against Jack (Willis) tomorrow. We know the nightmare he is in the ruck area.

"Their (England's) rules are different from ours, and it's like that for the moment. I don't think they will change it soon."

England's governing RFU introduced the regulation as a way to maintain the competitive standard of the English Premiership.

But there are currently 11 members of England's 2023 World Cup squad playing club rugby in France and England captain Maro Itoje said: "We want all the best players to be available for selection for England."

The lock added: "Many of them could be in England but that doesn't mean they would get picked because there is a lot of competition in almost every position."

France arrive at Twickenham fresh from opening this Six Nations with a Dupont-inspired 43-0, seven-try, rout of Wales in Paris last week.

England, by contrast suffered a 27-22 loss to champions Ireland in Dublin -- their seventh straight defeat by a leading rugby union nation.

- 'Sacred' -

France's last visit to Twickenham, in 2023, saw them cruise to an extraordinary 53-10 triumph as they inflicted England's record home defeat and ended their 18-year wait for a Six Nations win at their old rivals' London headquarters.

But Dupont preferred to focus on last year's edition of 'Le Crunch', where only a late penalty gave France a 33-31 win in Lyon.

"We can't trivialise the fact of coming to play at Twickenham, it's always something sacred, it's always a very big game," said Dupont. "We've had the chance to win some, but we also lost some, so you have to have that memory too.

"Every game in this tournament is crucial. When you're aiming to win it, you know you can't afford to drop any points -- especially at home. So they (England) will certainly have that in mind.

"But like us, we also have last year's match in mind. This tournament is so tight in terms of level and intensity that anything can happen very quickly, and we're aware of that."

France have had to make a change at fly-half with Romain Ntamack, also Dupont's half-back partner at Toulouse, suspended after being sent off for a high tackle against Wales.

Matthieu Jalibert takes over in Ntamack's absence and Dupont, 28, said he had no problems lining up alongside the Bordeaux playmaker, who was France's No 10 during the 2023 World Cup while Ntamack was sidelined by a long-term injury and also featured in last year's Six Nations.

"Matthieu knows the system very well, he has experienced it many times in recent years, so we have total confidence in him," insisted Dupont.

"His game is a little different from Romain's. They both have their own qualities but with Matthieu, we know each other very well now."

R.Marconi--IM