Woodward - knows the tough task his side face.

By Andrew Baldock, PA Sport, Rugby Union Correspondent, Paris

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World champions England will find themselves in the unfamiliar position of underdogs when they face RBS Six Nations title rivals France on Saturday night.

But Sir Clive Woodward's players are determined to rise to the occasion, and end a largely disappointing Six Nations campaign on a high.

England can still retain their championship crown, but it will take some doing.

Not only must they stop the Grand Slam-chasing French, but also face the prospect of winning by at least seven points, something they have not managed in Paris for 12 years.

Form and momentum suggests that France will complete a clean sweep, secure the title and avenge their World Cup semi-final defeat against England last November.

England will need to produce comfortably their best performance of the tournament in front of a sell-out 80,000 crowd at Stade de France, but head coach Woodward is relishing the prospect.

"These are two world-class sides, and there is a big match-up here," he said.

"France have got a little bit more momentum, they've got slight advantage, and when you have got that winning momentum, it is hard to stop. It's up to us to try and get the momentum back tomorrow night.

"All we want to do is win the game - it is irrelevant that France are going for the Grand Slam. This is always the big game of the Six Nations, and it will just be a big night.

"We won here in 2000, and England are pretty good at winning away from home. It is an awesome place to play, one of the best stadiums in the world."

England after losing their skipper Martin Johnson to international retirement and seeing their World Cup final match-winner Jonny Wilkinson sit out the tournament through injury, are yet to hit the heights in this season's Six Nations.

Much of their play has been scrappy and disjointed, which was horribly showcased during a miserable display against Ireland three weeks ago, when Brian O'Driscoll's team became the first side to triumph at Twickenham since 1999.

There were signs of an improvement against Wales last weekend, but England will need to move up at least another two gears if most pre-match predictions of a French victory are not to materialise.

"We had a bad day against Ireland, but it doesn't matter what other people say," added Woodward. "You have just got to concentrate on your own ability to coach and manage the team, and we would rather do our talking after the game tomorrow."

England, for the second game running, will go in with 22-year-old Olly Barkley in the critical fly-half position.

And while he passed his examination with flying colours against Wales six days ago, kicking 16 points, an evening out opposite a revered French back-row will be a totally different experience.

French flanker Serge Betsen did a superb man-marking job on Wilkinson when England lost 20-15 in Paris two years ago, and the home side will surely look to rattle the inexperienced Barkley.

Woodward though has no doubt that Barkley will be up to the task.

"Olly is a very talented player - we are very excited about him," Woodward said.

"You get your chances, and it is about stepping up and taking those chances. He has trained very well this week, and it will be a good match-up between him and Frederic Michalak."

For Barkley to shine though, he will require a solid platform to be built by England's forwards.

The red rose pack recovered from a dismal effort against Ireland to dominate the set-piece encounters at Wales' expense, but the French eight will provide a stern examination.

The French scrum has proved immovable throughout the tournament, and England will need to at least gain parity in that area, otherwise their victory hopes will surely evaporate.

"As always, we are really excited about the challenge. The guys know what they have got to do up-front," said England coach Andy Robinson.

"This is a game of attitude, and the attitude among the players this week has been immense. You want to test yourself against the best, and there has been a bit of an edge in our preparations."

England defence coach Phil Larder added: "In the past, we've tended to play with real intensity when there is a fear factor.

"Our players know that they are up against a very formidable team."

England will be spurred on by painful memories of their Paris defeat two years ago - a result that Woodward conceded still hurts - but they could find it a difficult task to avenge that setback.

France are on a roll, and with home advantage they should complete the job and rip the Six Nations title away from England's grasp.

England though have proved consistently under Woodward that they perform best when the pressure is really on, and there will be no greater example of that if they can upset the formbook on Saturday night.