It is fantastic to see the French return to what they are deep down in their rugby souls. We all know that French teams can be one minute sublime and the next frustrating, but it’s been great so far in this RBS Six Nations to see their rekindled zest for the game. Great, that is, for viewers and supporters, but bad news for the other teams in the tournament, especially England, who go to Paris with little confidence or cohesion.

The fulcrum of the French revival has been their red-hot back three, with full-back Cédric Heymans and wings Vincent Clerc and either Aurélien Rougerie or Julien Malzieu running with pace and power into space, supporting one another and scaring the living daylights out of defences.

The back three doesn’t make a team click all on its own, but it does reflect its attacking heart. This lot are tremendously exuberant and play the game as it should be played; freethinking, free-flowing and not coached rigidly in what to do and when to do it. They know the game already – it’s in their blood, with the passing drills they have practised since childhood deeply embedded. Running rugby is second nature to them, just like creative football is to the Brazilians.

It was suppressed during the Bernard Laporte regime, when they were encouraged to resist their natural instincts in favour of discipline. Losing to England in the World Cup semi-final was the straw that broke the camel’s back and their new coach, Marc Lièvremont, has taken them back to their heritage and beliefs and abandoned what was a totally alien game.

What makes traditional French back play so dangerous is that their attacking running lines are so deep and their support play so accurate and instinctive. When I played against the likes of Serge Blanco, Philippe Sella and Denis Charvet, it was like trying to defend against a side juggling with seven balls rather than one. You had to have eyes everywhere, and you never knew which way they were going. I got a real insight into their attacking play when I turned out for a Barbarians side against Leicester in a backline that included Charvet, Franck Mesnel and Jean-Baptiste Lafond. Because they were so deep – almost in a line behind me when I was the carrier, so I couldn’t see them – I had to ask where they wanted me to pass. They told me to put it where the space was, and that they would be there, and they were. Their support running was almost telepathic, with a huge element of trust, but they were so good at reading the body language of the ball-carrier that they were always in the right place at the right time.

It’s very exciting to see this new French back three combining in a similar way, because I didn’t think the French would find it again. French rugby under the influence of Laporte, and with Stade Français and Biarritz mimicking the national side, had become stagnant. I’d rather watch paint dry than watch their flairless, ambitionless rugby.

Laporte saw England’s forward dominance and heavy defence in 2003 as the way to win a World Cup and tried to imitate it. But the England were being pragmatic and playing to their strengths, whereas Laporte’s template was at the expense of their traditional strengths.

The blend in the current France back three is classic all shapes and sizes, with Rougerie and Malzieu 6ft 4in and 15st-plus, while Clerc and Heymans are smaller and nippier, at about 5ft 10in. However, they all have genuine speed and an insatiable desire to counter-attack. Heymans’s first instinct is to run rather than kick, and he and Clerc have a near-psychic understanding helped by playing together for Toulouse.

Where the English back three look like they are bogged down in mud and passing a lead ball, their French counterparts look as if they are walking on water and passing with the lightness and touch of conjurors. You can see that they are enjoying themselves, and it is a great feeling when you are part of a backline that has got touch, tempo and rhythm.

Unlike England, the French back three do not pass and hope – or throw out bullet passes. It’s a softer delivery that anticipates that the support runner is going to make it his duty to get there. It comes from confidence, and where England are like a golfer who has the yips, the French are like one who knows he is going to sink a 30ft putt from the moment he strikes the ball.

The English back three have talent, but they play as individuals, and although Paul Sackey links cleverly with Jonny Wilkinson, overall with England he does not get the understanding and support he enjoys at Wasps. Iain Balshaw is in limbo because now he doesn’t know when or if he will get the ball, whereas before, with Mike Catt’s lovely passing, England had genuine rhythm. David Strettle also underlines their collective lack of confidence, trying too hard in an England shirt because he sees far too little of the ball playing for Harlequins.

By contrast the quality of play, and the ambition, in the France game against Ireland was easily the best of the tournament. Lièvremont has given his players a clean slate and told them: “I know how good you are, now go out and show me.”

With the French forwards busting a gut to deliver quicker ball, and young fly-half François Trinh-Duc sticking to the golden rule of pass and support, they are like a team reborn, and their cutting edge is Clerc and Heymans. They come as a pair, and wherever one is, so is the other. They are almost joined at the hip, and that’s what makes them so effective. Physically, Heymans is more barrel-shaped, and Clerc more svelte, but they complement each other perfectly.

Clerc’s five tries in two games shows he punches well above his weight. He is a pocket dynamo. He is very quick, with great foot-work, and if he picks the right line he will leave any defender for dead. Heymans is equally effective, using his strength cleverly to attract defenders with direct running lines and then off-loading and putting the support runner – often Clerc – into the gap he has created.

It is a huge contrast with Heymans’s pathetic performance in the World Cup at full-back. I thought then that he could only ever play wing at international level, but he has proved me wrong. He is likely to play at 15 again this week after Clément Poitrenaud, the specialist full-back brought into the squad, sustained a serious ankle injury yesterday. England are in grave danger. Heymans is on fire, and Clerc and the strong-running Rougerie are also blazing trails. By emphasising the importance of teamwork as the best means to express themselves, Lièvremont has not only brought out the best in his back three, he has helped France to rediscover their flair.

France v England, Saturday, BBC1, 7.50pm, kick-off 8pm