Test rugby: Scotland v France in Paris

14.02.2009
Scotland v France in Paris (6 Nations)

Preview
Scotland have an uphill battle against a French side that has been threatening to break loose at any moment. Scotland require some old hands to play to steady the ship. Players like Hines and Murray in the forwards and Patterson in the backs.

France have yet to show some decent recent results. There have been promises of great things to come and calls for patience made recently by players and coaching staff. Problem is the Parisian crowd is not too forgiving. Players and coaches know this so they will be under great pressure to perform and perform well on Saturday. Heads will roll if France lose. And how do France usually perform under pressure. Well, not to well actually!

Last Five Encounters
03.02.2008 France 27-6 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
07.03.2007 France 46-19 in Paris (6 Nations)
05.02.2006 Scotland 20-16 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
05.02.2005 France 16-9 in Paris (6 Nations)
21.03.2004 France 31-0 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)

GWC Rugby Rankings: World Table-Scotland 6th, France 8th
Europe Table-France 3rd, Scotland 6th

Prediction: France by 17

Teams

Scotland
15 Hugo Southwell (Edinburgh Gunners) Age 28, 45 Tests
14 Simon Danielli (Ulster, Ireland) 30, 16
13 Max Evans (Glasgow Warriors) 25, 2
12 Graeme Morrison (Glasgow Warriors) 26, 12
11 Thomas Evans (Glasgow Warriors) 25, 3
10 Phillip Godman (Edinburgh Gunners) 26, 13
9 Michael Blair, Capt. (Edinburgh Gunners) 27, 54
8 Simon Taylor (Stade Francais, France) 29, 62
7 John Barclay (Glasgow Warriors) 21, 8
6 Alistair Strokosch (Gloucester, England) 26, 7
5 James Hamilton (Edinburgh Gunners) 25, 19
4 Jason White (Sale Sharks, England) 30, 70
3 Alastair Dickinson (Gloucester, England) 24, 8
2 Ross Ford (Edinburgh Gunners) 24, 25
1 Allan Jacobsen (Edinburgh Gunners) 30, 34
Replacements
16 Douglas Hall (Glasgow Warriors) 28, 24
17 Moray Low (Glasgow Warriors) 24, New Cap
18 Kelly Brown (Glasgow Warriors) 26, 26
19 Scott Gray (Northampton Saints, England) 30, 5
20 Christopher Cusiter (Perpignan, France) 26, 40
21 Christopher Paterson (Gloucester, England) 30, 91
22 Nicholas De Luca ( Edinburgh Gunners) 25, 6
Head Coach: Frank Hadden

Injured List: Simon Webster, Geoff Cross

France
15 Clement Poitrenaud (Stade Toulousain) age 26, 32 tests
14 Maxime Medard (Stade Toulousain) 21, 4
13 Benoit Baby (Clermont Auvergne) 25, 7
12 Yannick Jauzion (Stade Toulousain) 30, 56
11 Cedric Heymans (Stade Toulousain) 30, 44
10 Lionel Beauxis (Stade Français) 22, 12
9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde (Castres) 23, 5
8 Imanol Harinordoquy (Biarritz Olympique) 29, 52
7 Fulgence Ouedraogo (Montpellier) 22, 12
6 Thierry Dusautoir (Stade Toulousain) 27, 18
5 Romain Millo-Chluski (Stade Toulousain) 25, 5
4 Lionel Nallet, Capt. (Castres) 32, 44
3 Nicolas Mas (Perpignan) 28, 22
2 Dimitri Szarzewski (Stade Français) 25, 31
1 Fabien Barcella (Auch) 25, 3
Replacements
16 Benjamin Kayser (Leicester, England) 24, 6
17 Renaud Boyoud (US Dax) 28, 2
18 Sebastien Chabal (Sale, England) 30, 42
19 Louis Picamoles (Montpellier) 22, 9
20 Morgan Parra (Bourgoin) 20, 5
21 Maxime Mermoz (Perpignan) 22, 1
22 Julien Malzieu (Clermont Auvergne) 25, 7
Head Coach: Marc Lièvremont

For complete lists of all international rugby tests results for both Scotland and France go to www.rugbyinternational.net