SIX NATIONS RUGBY: Scotland v France

05.02.2011
Scotland v France in Paris (6 Nations)

Venue: Stade de France

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

Preview
Both teams have a lot to play for in this match. France will look to erase the disasters of 2010, whilst Scotland will look to build on the good work they achieved in November. The recent encounters between these two rugby nations have been close which points to a fairly close tussle in the French capital.

France had a horror year of international rugby in 2010. They lost heavily to Argentina in Buenos Aires and then were walked all over by Australia 16-59 late November. France has got to put all that behind them. They need their forwards to dominate and their backs to play with flair and authority, something they can either do, or not, depending on the day, and the mood. I’m somewhat puzzled as to why Traille is at fullback whilst Rougerie is at centre. Both picked out of position and both part of the problem against Australia. Which means the French are difficult to predict, including the selector! One thing is certain. They rarely have two poor showings in a row. So watch out Scotland!

Scotland has been building up a good team spirit since Andy Robinson took control. Sure the All Blacks walked all over them in November but before that and since the Scots have been impressive in they’ve attempted. They are building gradually but carefully and I’d expect them to push France very close.

Last Five Encounters
07.02.2010 France 18-9 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
14.02.2009 France 22-13 in Paris (6 Nations)
03.02.2008 France 27-6 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
17.03.2007 France 46-19 in Paris (6 Nations)
05.02.2006 Scotland 20-16 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)

Scotland has to go away back to 1999, the year they won the International Championship (called the 5 Nations then), to when they last defeated France in Paris.

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table-Scotland 5th, France 6th
Europe Table-France 1st, Scotland 4th

IRB Ranking Points
France 81.66, Scotland 81.20

Prediction: France by 8 points

Teams

France
15 Damien Traille, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Maxime Medard, 10 Francois Thrinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir, Capt. 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Julien Pierre, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements
16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Luc Ducalcon, 18 Jerome Thion, 19 Sebastien Chabal, 20 Dimitri Yachvili, 21 Clement Poitrenaud, 22 Vincent Clerc.
Head Coach: Marc Lièvremont

Scotland
15 Hugo Southwell , 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Joseph Ansbro, 12 Nicholas De Luca, 11 Max Evans, 10 Daniel Parks, 9 Rory Lawson, 8 Kelly Brown, 7 John Barclay, 6 Nathan Hines, 5 Alastair Kellock, Capt.4 Richard Gray, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements
16 Douglas Hall, 17 Moray Low, 18 Richard Vernon, 19 Ross Rennie, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Ruaridh Jackson, 22 Sean Lamont.
Head Coach: Andy Robinson