Thursday 19 March 2015 14:59, UK
Geoff Parling says England will not be worrying about points difference ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations clash with France.
With fellow championship contenders Wales and Ireland in action earlier in the day, England will know the margin of victory required to clinch a first title since 2011 when they take to the pitch at Twickenham.
However, Parling says England cannot afford to take anything for granted against a France side that returned to winning ways in Rome, and who traditionally raise their game against the Red Rose.
"We've got to not worry too much about the other games and just control what we can control,” the second row told Sky Sports.
“First and foremost we need to beat France. They haven't been going too well but you never know which French team is going to turn up - they could be absolutely outstanding.
"They rely on the set piece from their forwards and then individual brilliance probably more so than other teams. It's a bit different and unpredictable, and sometimes quite hard to play against.
"I don't think you can take a win for granted, can you? You can't talk about what you need to do but first and foremost you've just got to win.
"If you know what you need to do at the start of the game it doesn't affect you. In the first 20 minutes you've got to try and build the score, and take the points when they're on offer and get into the game. Maybe in the second half you can alter things a little bit but in the first half it won't change anything.
"What was France's strength was the set piece against a good Italy pack, so we know we're going to be in for a huge battle and a big test, but our job doesn't change that much.
"We know the importance of Saturday, we know what's on the line. You're going out there to win a Six Nations, how many people get a chance to do that? It's an exciting day."
Frustrated
Parling came off the bench for the final half-hour in England’s 25-13 win over Scotland, having recovered from a knee injury. It was the 31-year-old's first Six Nations appearance in two years and he has been handed a starting spot against Les Bleus.
England were guilty of squandering a plethora of scoring opportunities against the Scots, and having suffered a late sucker punch against France on the opening day of last year’s championship, Parling admits they must be more ruthless in attack.
The Leicester lock said: "Immediately after (the Scotland game) we were probably a bit frustrated and just got a bit subdued, but this week we realise that we've got a game at the weekend which is basically for the championship.
First and foremost we need to beat France. They haven't been going too well but you never know which French team is going to turn up - they could be absolutely outstanding.
"We've got to be more clinical when we get chances. You could probably split our attacking into two sections. The first bit was what we created, which was outstanding. We created lots of chances and pulled them apart.
“On the flip side, when we get into that last third, we've got to be more clinical. If that means holding onto the ball for a couple of more phases and recycling and then getting them again on the edge, well then we will do that, but we can't waste those opportunities again."
France head to Twickenham on the back of a 29-0 win over Italy, which will go down as one of the worst Six Nations games in recent years. However, one of the few positives for Philippe Saint-Andre's side was their powerful scrum, and Parling says England have work to do in the set piece after a mixed performance against Scotland.
"The boys' scrum was good but we probably didn't get the rub of the green from the ref so we've got to learn how to manage that better, and our line-out was a bit scrappy at times,” he said.
“So overall you could say satisfied but there's a hell of a lot of things to work on. We know what challenge is coming this week - it's that big French pack."
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