After a promising start to life as the England boss – Lancaster led his side to wins against Scotland and Italy to get their RBS 6 Nations off to the perfect start – a last-gasp try by Wales at Twickenham two weeks ago saw the interim coach suffer his first loss at the managerial helm.

France boast three times as many caps in their starting XV as Lancaster’s newlook England for today’s clash, while speculation surrounding the possible appointment of Jake White or Nick Mallett later this summer have been a further distraction.

But Lancaster has told the Rugby Football Union that he has the know-how and self-belief to succeed as an international coach, while a win against France in Paris would be the perfect way to further his case.

"Playing France is a benchmark. It's one of the biggest challenges in international rugby. It's a massive challenge but one we are really excited about," Lancaster said.

"We said at Friday's team meeting that the only thing that matters is what's inside this room, the belief that is there in each other and in the direction we're going.

"If you weighed up the experience of the French against ours, you'd say there's only one team in with a chance of winning.

"Our players are in a good place. Experience is one thing, self-belief another. That applies to coaching, too.

"I wouldn't have taken this job if I didn't have confidence in my ability to do the job."