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Stuart Lancaster lauds England's strength in depth

Lancaster lauds strength in depth
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England coach Stuart Lancaster backs quality on his bench to make the difference in the last 20 minutes against France this weekend.

England coach Stuart Lancaster believes that his bench is capable of making the difference against France in the Six Nations this weekend.

Lancaster was able to introduce key players such as Manu Tuilagi and Courtney Lawes in their 12-6 win over Ireland last time out to keep England's Grand Slam charge alive.

France travel to Twickenham wounded after losing their first two matches in the tournament and Lancaster feels that competition for places is keeping his young side focused on Saturday's match.

He told The Telegraph: "It's not for me to pick apart where it's going wrong [for France]. There's obviously areas we think we can exploit. We've got to make sure we win that set-piece battle up front and win quick ball.

"We've also got to deny them good line-out ball. If we can get good pace and tempo in our game and play with good width, then I think we're pretty strong.

"And we'll have a good bench to come on. That last 20 minutes will be crucial again. We felt that was going to make quite a difference going into last two games. Against France also we want to try to press home that advantage."

England are the only unbeaten side left in the competition with three matches still to play.

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Liam Power
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