It was Robert Horry, the NBA basketball legend, who once said that âpressure can burst a pipe or pressure can make a diamond.â
It is a quote that sprung to mind on Thursday as England head coach Eddie Jones named his starting XV to face France at Twickenham on Saturday.
The pressure has been building on England after two defeats in the opening three rounds of the Guinness Six Nations Championship.
And with Grand Slam-chasing France arriving into London with the kind of swagger we have not seen from Les Bleus for over a decade, it feels like England have reached the point where this year will be defined by how they react to that pressure on Saturday.