England captain Vickery also wants an end to the finger-pointing that followed second-half struggles against opening RBS 6 Nations opponents Wales and Italy.

The World Cup finalists blew a 13-point lead to Wales, suffering their first Twickenham defeat in the fixture for 20 years.

Then eight days later, they almost sacrificed a 14-point advantage at Stadio Flaminio before hanging on for an unimpressive 23-19 success.

The jury remains undecided on Vickery’s England.

Are they no better than those results suggest? Or, are they about to stun the French and batter Les Bleus in their own back-yard?

Either way, Vickery knows the talking must stop and England have to deliver, or a fifth successive Six Nations campaign looks destined to end without silverware.

Wasps prop Vickery, back to full fitness after a stomach bug sidelined him in Rome, said: “I am under no illusions about what lies ahead for us, but I am really positive about it.

“We have to improve, go out and perhaps show a level to our game we haven’t seen yet. If we don’t, then it is going to be a very difficult proposition.

“It’s France against England in the Six Nations in Paris. For me, it is the biggest game in the championship.

“We are going to be coming up against a team on the weekend who, four months ago, were knocked out of the semi-finals of the World Cup in their home country in front of their home support (by England).

“It is going to take an heroic effort to beat these guys, but we must stop talking about what’s happening and ultimately go out and put it on the paddock.

“We all have to stop pointing fingers at people and look at our own individual performance and work-rate.

“It is about taking ownership and responsibility. Every small detail makes a difference, and we have just been getting too many things wrong collectively in the second half of games.

“You have got to be careful not to look too much into it, because you can end up trying to find things that perhaps aren’t there.

“But at the same time, they need to be addressed and be quite hard on each other - which we have been - to put things right.

“The response from the players has been great.”