Following an incredible confrontation last weekend, France and Scotland are poised to engage once more, with their upcoming battle scheduled to take place at the Geoffroy Guichard Stadium in Saint-Etienne this Saturday.
Last week's match is perhaps best characterised as a tale of two halves, highlighted by the Scots displaying a tenacity at Murrayfield that has eluded them in recent times to pull off an incredible 25-21 victory.
Match preview
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As the 2023 Rugby World Cup approaches in less than a month on their home turf, France have emerged as the favoured team with a notable second-place finish behind Ireland in this year's Six Nations championship while delivering consistently impressive performances over the past few years.
However, they witnessed a setback as they suffered a 25-21 defeat to the Scots despite an outstanding display in the first half, which catapulted them to a commanding 21-3 lead at halftime.
Even without their star number nine, Antoine Dupont, his stand-in Baptiste Couilloud, along with Louis Bielle-Biarrey, and Cameron Woki, all found their way over the try line at Murrayfield in the first 40 minutes.
In the second half, though, their momentum faltered, and Scotland mounted a strong resurgence and gave the French a lesson in the importance of maintaining focus throughout the entire match as they came storming back with 22 unanswered points.
Still, France are the better side and following an undefeated 2022 campaign under Fabien Galthie, they have consistently lived up to expectations, and with several of their big-name players returning for this encounter, Les Bleues will be heavily fancied to get their revenge in this one.
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Meanwhile, that win over Italy two weeks ago seemed to have done wonders for the Scots' belief as they orchestrated an incredible second-half comeback against the world number three last week.
While opinions may vary regarding Scotland's 25-21 win against a makeshift French team, the remarkable manner in which they overturned an 18-point halftime deficit, along with dealing with a red card for Zander Fagerson in the 53rd minute, is bound to leave a lasting impact on the squad heading to the World Cup.
The half-time discussions by coach Gregor Townsend clearly played a pivotal role in rallying the Scottish team and sparking their revival, with Finn Russell leading the charge during the match, executing a well-calculated diagonal kick that led to a try and gradually shifted the momentum.
Key contributions from players like Pierre Schoeman and Jamie Ritchie proved crucial, and despite a late French surge, Scotland staunchly defended their lead until Rory Darge seized a pivotal turnover to seal the victory.
This match at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard will be Scotland's penultimate fixture before the World Cup as they are scheduled to face Georgia at Murrayfield on August 26 before returning to France for the main tournament, commencing their campaign against the defending champions, South Africa, in Marseille on September 10.
France A form (all competitions):
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
Scotland form (all competitions):
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
- W
Team News
Galthie has ordered a significant reshuffle in his starting XV, introducing 13 changes following their defeat at Murrayfield, with only Cameron Woki and Paul Boudehent retaining their positions.
Dupont steps in to take on the captaincy, and Romain Ntamack partners with him in the half-backs, while Jonathan Danty and Gael Fickou take their places in the centres, flanked by Damian Penaud and Gabin Villiere.
Townsend's starting lineup will see six changes, with Jamie Ritchie returning to take up the captaincy, relinquishing the role from Russell, who guided the team to victory last week.
Darge reclaims his spot in the starting XV, replacing Hamish Watson after showcasing his prowess as a replacement in Edinburgh, while George Turner secures the position of hooker in place of Ewan Ashman.
France starting lineup: 15. Thomas Ramos, 14. Damian Penaud, 13. Gael Fickou, 12. Jonathan Danty, 11. Gabin Villiere, 10. Romain Ntamack, 9. Antoine Dupont (c), 8. Gregory Alldritt, 7. Charles Ollivon, 6. Paul Boudehent, 5. Thibaud Flament, 4. Cameron Woki, 3. Dorian Aldegheri, 2. Julien Marchand, 1. Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16. Pierre Bourgarit, 17. Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18. Uini Atonio, 19. Florian Verhaeghe, 20. Bastien Chalureau, 21. Sekou Macalou, 22. Maxime Lucu, 23. Louis Bielle-Biarrey
Scotland starting lineup: 15. Blair Kinghorn, 14. Kyle Steyn, 13. Huw Jones, 12. Sione Tuipulotu, 11. Duhan van der Merwe, 10. Finn Russell, 9. Ali Price, 8. Jack Dempsey, 7. Rory Darge, 6. Jamie Ritchie (c), 5. Grant Gilchrist, 4. Richie Gray, 3. WP Nel, 2. George Turner, 1. Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16. Stuart McInally, 17. Rory Sutherland, 18. Javan Sebastian, 19. Scott Cummings, 20. Sam Skinner, 21. Josh Bayliss, 22. George Horne, 23. Ollie Smith
Head To Head
Matches between France and Scotland trace their roots to 1910 when the two teams engaged in a match in Edinburgh. Emerging triumphant, Scotland secured a 27-0 victory.
Since that initial meeting, a cumulative count of 101 games have been contested, culminating in 58 victories for France, 40 victories for Scotland, and three drawn matches.
We say: France 30-21 Scotland
Les Bleues have been a dominant force in world rugby over the past few years, and while last week's loss may have come as a shock to many, they will know that that is exactly what these matches are for. With their big hitters returning to the squad for this match, we fancy the hosts to resume business as usual with a win in this one.
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Devesh Jaganath
