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{ Time running out for skipper Moody(UKPA) – 55 minutes ago

Lewis Moody will have until the end of Tuesday to prove he is ready to resume the captaincy and lead England into battle against RBS 6 Nations title rivals France.

The Bath flanker returned to action at the weekend with a 23-minute cameo off the bench against Northampton after five weeks out nursing knee ligament damage. While Mike Tindall captained England in their opening two victories over Wales and Italy, Moody always maintained Saturday's showdown with France was a realistic target.

England manager Martin Johnson plans to finalise his selection on Tuesday and the indications are that Moody will be involved at Twickenham.

But Johnson still has to be convinced his captain is ready to start such a pivotal Test match, where the only two remaining unbeaten sides go head-to-head.

"We are hoping he is going to be in the right place to be able to participate on Saturday," Johnson said. "We will know a little more on Tuesday and name the team for the players."

France coach Marc Lievremont lit the blue touch-paper ahead of 'Le Crunch' with an anti-English outburst in which he branded Johnson's team as the most-hated in the championship.

When Wales coach Warren Gatland launched some verbal grenades at England in the build-up to the opening game of Six Nations, Johnson suggested he was acting like a man under pressure. And England have laughed off Lievremont's jibe, with fly-half Toby Flood revealing the squad interpreted the special attention as a back-handed compliment.

"Maybe he was trying to unsettle us, I don't know. It shows people are taking notice of us and asking questions about how we are playing," Flood said.

Whatever impression other countries have of Johnson's England, Flood insisted they are not arrogant enough to believe they are anywhere near the finished article. This time last year, England opened their campaign with two victories but failed to win another match.

"I don't think we are getting too far ahead of ourselves. We have had a couple of good performances," Flood said. "This is the biggest Test match we have had in a long time. Only one side can leave it with the chance of a Grand Slam."

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