Zoe Harrison urges England to embrace the occasion in grand slam clash with France

Harrison has got the nod at fly half as the Red Roses battle their fiercest foes at Allianz Stadium for Women’s Six Nations glory

Zoe Harrison will start at fly half for England against France (Getty Images)

Zoe Harrison has admitted that England will have to tune out the noise against France as they seek a Women’s Six Nations grand slam.

The Red Roses take on their closest rivals on the final weekend of the tournament with both sides unbeaten so far.

A crowd of around 40,000 is expected at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham as England play their final competitive fixture before a home World Cup later this year.

And speaking on match eve, Harrison, preferred at fly half to Holly Aitchison, discussed the impact of having a large crowd could have on a pivotal fixture.

Harrison explained: “You have to tune it out because you have to dial into what your cues are and what people are saying to you on the pitch.

“But also, when someone is making a line break or something and the crowd goes up and you hear them, it gives that bit of oomph to keep going.”

England have won all four of their fixtures so far in this campaign by significant margins, but are still searching for a complete performance.

“We've just been talking about like an 80-minute performance, first half and second half,” Harrison added. “Doing a bit here, doing a bit there, [and] just getting that full 80-minute performance in.’

“I feel like we are always trying to be at our best and maybe we haven’t reached it yet. We’ve got this and then a World Cup, so it’s how can we grow and how can we cut out any errors.”

England are set to play in front of another strong crowd at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (Getty Images)

Speaking further on the World Cup with the tournament on the horizon, Harrison explained she is excited at the prospect of the upcoming home games.

‘It’s a lot nicer for a start, you don’t have to fly to New Zealand or anything like that,” she said. “Also, just having the home support, all your family and friends being able to come.

“Obviously, the last one was in New Zealand and only my dad could come out. So just having a home crowd and knowing the space that you’re in [is exciting].”

England face France at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with kick off at 4.45pm BST.