If England’s stars thought a long-standing tradition against France would continue, they’re about to be proven wrong.
Steve Borthwick’s side will look to pick up their first win of this year’s Six Nations tournament when they host France at Twickenham on Saturday.
Win or lose, France has typically invited their opposition into their dressing room to share a beer following a hard-fought contest.
However, there will be no such festivities after the two teams meet on Saturday due to a booze ban put in place by the French Rugby Federation (FFR).
So strict is the ban, every player in France’s Six Nations squad had to sign a seven-page document which outlined 17 rules regarding discriminatory language and alcohol consumption.
The stringent rules regarding alcohol were put in place after France’s tour of Argentina last year descended into chaos.
Melvyn Jaminet was slapped with a 34-week ban and a €30,000 (£25,000) fine due to a racist post on social media.
In the clip, the 25-year-old fullback was filmed saying: “The first Arab I come across, I’ll throw him a head-butt.”
The FFR quickly condemned Jaminet’s comments and said the Toulon player had ‘undermined the best interests of rugby’.
Jaminet also apologised for his comments and made it clear they ‘in no way reflect my values or those of the French rugby team’.
“Racism, in all its forms, is unacceptable and goes against everything I believe in,” Jaminet said.
Two days after Jaminet’s video, Oscar Jegou and Hugo Auradou were arrested in Argentina following allegations of sexual assault.
A 39-year-old woman alleged the duo had beaten, choked and repeatedly raped her in a hotel room.
However, the case was dismissed in December by the judge due to insufficient evidence.
Both Jegou and Auradou, who play for La Rochelle and Pau respectively, were included in France’s Six Nations squad and will be on the interchange against England.
Les Bleus cruised to victory in their tournament opener as they thrashed Wales 43-0.
However, the victory was soured by a late red card to Romain Ntamack after he made contact with the head of Welsh centre Ben Thomas.
Ntamack was initially shown a yellow card with ten minutes remaining in the match, but it was later upgraded to a red.
The 25-year-old received a six-week ban for the incident, but thanks to his clean disciplinary record, it was reduced to three.
His ban could be shortened to two weeks should he complete the Coaching Intervention Programme, which would allow Ntamack to return against Italy on February 23.
France’s match against England kicks off at 4:45pm on Saturday at Twickenham.