Picamoles pumped up for his Vunipola challenge

LOUIS Picamoles is relishing the prospect of pitting his skill and strength against his counterpart Billy Vunipola.

The France hero highlighted the important role Vunipola performs in the back row when he is fit for selection. And the former Northampton No.8 admits England are considerably more formidable when his Saracens rival is packing down.

Picamoles, 33, who will win his 74th Les Bleus cap at Twickenham today, said: “I enjoy playing against him because it is always a difficult challenge and you want the best players on the field to see how you can do against them.

“Vunipola is a huge presence in the their pack and gives them a certain extra something. You can tell how much they miss him when he is not playing.

“From watching the England game with Ireland he appeared to be very fit and strong. He played very well in Dublin and I expect another good battle with him.

“He is a big, strong man who is a very good ball carrier and difficult to stop when he gets moving – but we will need to stop him.

“If you let him play he can hurt you but you have to be ready to take him and the England forwards in the physical contest. We have some very big guys ourselves who have power and ability, so we will be ready for it at Twickenham.”

France raced into a 16-0 lead against Wales before their second half capitulation and Picamoles demands a reaction.

“We were so disappointed at the way we lost to Wales because we had the game in our hands and let it slip,” he said. “You cannot make wrong decisions in any Six Nations game because you suffer. We want to put things right. We need to because you cannot win the Championship if you lose two games.

“Playing England is always special. It is important we play our very best and show what the France team is capable of. To do that we, the forwards, need to be in control of the ball and lay down the platform for the others.”