Preview: Scotland v France

Scotland have an immediate chance for revenge this weekend when they welcome France to BT Murrayfield.

Downed in Nice last week, Gregor Townsend’s men’s first World Cup warm-up game did not exactly go to plan.

As a result, the head coach has rung the changes with only Stuart Hogg retained in the starting XV.

That means Finn Russell and Greig Laidlaw are back, as are Tommy Seymour and Sean Maitland in an experienced backline.

Up front Blade Thomson makes his long-awaited debut at No.8 either side of Hamish Watson and Ryan Wilson.

France by contrast have opted for continuity, despite this being the second of only three warm-up games for them, with only four changes from the side that won last weekend in Nice.

Guilhem Guirado returns as captain and hooker while staying in the pack Felix Lambey is in the engine room and Arthur Iturria back at flanker.

In the backline Thomas Ramos gets the nod at No.15 but otherwise France want to continue where they left off in their 32-3 win.

Keep an eye out therefore for Gregory Alldritt at No.8, he scored a double from the bench in the Championship clash against Scotland late on and added his third international try against the same opponents last week in Nice.

Alldritt – who has a Scottish father – starts at the base of the scrum again this weekend and his battle with debutant Thomson should make for fascinating viewing.

Scotland v France, Saturday 1:10pm, BT Murrayfield

What they said

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend promised ‘a better performance’ this weekend following the Nice reversal:

“We referenced a game in the changing room where we missed a performance against Wales a year ago and turned round in a week with a very good performance against France.

“The physical drive has to be right across the team. The players know that and know that is what should happen every time they play for Scotland,” Townsend said.

“If last week was a reminder to us all that if you don’t do that, you are going to come to a big loss, then we don’t need another reminder.”

Scotland Captain, Greig Laidlaw, on tomorrow’s rematch against France in front of a sell-out crowd at BT Murrayfield and once again partnering with Finn Russell on the pitch. #AsOne pic.twitter.com/z7aW9lcLAB

— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) August 23, 2019

France assistant coach Julien Bonnaire: “Scotland have made a huge number of changes while we are looking for continuity. We are trying to achieve that now against a completely different opponent.

“They will want to put a lot of pace on the ball, we know what is coming, they are hurt after the defeat last week and that is a good test for us. We want to see how our team reacts.”

Key battle – Gael Fickou v Chris Harris

Gael Fickou gave Scotland the run around in Paris during the Guinness Six Nations clash between the two sides earlier this year.

His budding partnership with Wesley Fofana gets another run out this weekend and, after the injury to Geoffrey Doumayrou, France are hoping they have solved their midfield conundrum.

Up against Fickou this week is the sizeable form of Chris Harris, who has impressed all the Scotland coaches in pre-season – both in attack and defence.

With Huw Jones yet to nail down the No.13 jersey and Rory Hutchinson gaining ground fast, now is the time for Harris to prove himself at this level.

Deuxième match de préparation à la Coupe du Monde ce samedi pour les Bleus ! Le #XVdeFrance se rend à Edimbourg pour y affronter une nouvelle fois l’Écosse ! Voici la composition de votre équipe ! #NeFaisonsXV #ECOFRA pic.twitter.com/lnSMQ4hv1u

— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) August 20, 2019

Guinness Six Nations – Stats powered by AWS

• Scotland carried for nearly twice as many metres as France in their 2019 Championship clash and made the most carries of any country in a single game with 172.
• Scotland scored six tries originating from turnovers, more than any other nation in the 2019 Championship.
• The 12 tries France scored in the 2019 Championship were the most in a single campaign since they last won it all back in 2010.
• Scotland will need to stop Antoine Dupont, who made more offloads than any other player in the Guinness Six Nations this year.

Match Notes:

• It has been five years since France last won in Edinburgh, Scotland winning at home in both the 2016 and 2018 Championship clashes .
• Blade Thomson will make his international debut this weekend, almost a year after his first call-up for Scotland during the 2018 autumn internationals.
• Alivereti Raka scored a try on Test debut last week in Nice, and now faces his first international on the road after being retained on the left wing.

Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Pete Horne, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (captain), 8 Blade Thomson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Willem Nel, 2 George Turner, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements: 16 Grant Stewart, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 John Barclay, 21 George Horne, 22 Rory Hutchinson, 23 Blair Kinghorn.

France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Grégory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Arthur Iturria, 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 4 Félix Lambey, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado (captain), 1 Jefferson Poirot.
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Yacouba Camara, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Romain Ntamack, 23 Maxime Médard

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