France captain Lionel Nallet has labelled England a "complete team" ahead of Saturday's RBS 6 Nations Championship showdown in Paris.
Brian Ashton's side have hardly set the world alight since reaching the World Cup final last October.
In the Six Nations, a first Twickenham defeat to Wales in 20 years was followed by an unconvincing 23-19 win over wooden-spoon favourites Italy in Rome.
But Nallet, skippering his country against England for the first time, remains full of respect for Les Bleus' arch-rivals.
"They are a side who have mastered their game perfectly for a number of years now," said the Castres lock.
"The English have this capacity to keep their hands on the ball and they also have a perfect kicking game when they look to occupy territory.
"They have a very complete team."
England performed a stunning turnaround during the World Cup, bouncing back from a 36-0 drubbing at the hands of South Africa in the group stages to win four straight games culminating in a tension-filled 14-9 victory over France in the semi-final.
They lost the final narrowly to the Springboks but their recovery during the tournament was not lost on Nallet.
"They are always difficult to play against," he added.
"People believe they have nothing left to give, like during the World Cup, and then they go and make the final.
"They are always there, and more often than not pull out a massive performance against France. So we have to pay careful attention."
France have impressed in patches during the Six Nations and remain unbeaten thanks to wins against Scotland and Ireland over the first couple of weekends.
But if there is one department they have struggled in in both matches, it is the scrum, and England's powerful and experienced tight five will seek to exploit that at the Stade de France this weekend.
Nallet is not blind to the fact that the French scrum, which was demolished by Ireland in the last 20 minutes of France's last Six Nations game, is a work in progress.
"We have had to look at the scrum again because at the end of the Ireland match, we suffered," he admitted.
"It wasn't catastrophic though. It was more a lack of concentration, I believe, that saw us being penalised.
"The back row came up too quickly before the ball left the scrum and we, the locks, had our shoulders a bit too high and our backsides in the air. We weren't in a good position to push.
"It is therefore necessary for us to concentrate in that department, in training and in the match. For the full 80 minutes."
It may be thumbs down in the overall assessment of France's scrum but some of the team's play in the backs has been a joy to watch over the first two weekends of the Six Nations.
The French flair has returned under new coach Marc Lievremont, who has asked his side to take more responsibility and be enterprising in attack.
Lievremont has urged his players to maintain that outlook on Saturday, even if they find themselves under pressure against the English.
"We must not be cautious," he said. "That would be the worst error to make.
"We were against Ireland by limiting our scope and giving away too much ball. Against a team as big and pragmatic as England's, that would be a big mistake.
"We will not beat them at their own game, that's for sure. We have to develop our own game.
"After two good matches overall, we are at the third stage and we have to see these things in terms of a cycle, an evolution."
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