Key events
Half Time! Scotland 19 – 14 France
40 mins. It’s Scotland’s turn to infringe at the scrum, Schoeman driving upwards instead of level. Dupont decides that’s enough for this half, so taps and kicks the ball out.
39 mins. Scotland are on the ball again and near the French 22 once more. They move it right towards Graham’s wing and there’s a tiny overlap that they cannot exploit as the ball goes behind the runners. Graham regathers, but the momentum is lost and a knock-on follows from the little winger.
36 mins. A scrum in the Scottish half takes a little while to complete, and when it does Scotland win a penalty by forcing the French front row to pop up.
YELLOW CARD! Mathieu Jalibert (France)
The French 10 pays the price for being the latest one pinged of the recent repeated infringements in the build up to the try.
TRY! Scotland 19 – 14 France (Pierre Schoeman)
32 mins. Tuipulotu tell Russell to out the penalty into the corner, and from the lineout Scotland put on a regulation maul for a five metre gain in the 22 before the backs have a go. Russell races up to the line and is inches short and still in possession; so the phases and carries come again with another advantage for offside being played, which they don’t need as Schoeman forces over.
Russell converts.
30 mins. This is the first time the French defence have been tested consistently and they are not coping well. Scotland do nothing more than put the ball through hands and recycle at pace and Les Bleus are infringing all over the place as they scramble against an attacking dynamism they are not used to.
TRY! Scotland 12 – 14 France (Kyle Steyn)
26 mins. A delightful try this. From the catch and drive at the lineout, Turner breaks right like a scrum-half running with the ball. He throws a switch pass to Stern, who is off his wing like a bullet train to sprint a diagonal line back against the defensive drift and into the left corner. A really clever move
Russell misses the extras
25 mins. That dispiriting few minutes has not dampened Scotland’s commitment as they immediately come back hard in the middle of the park. This pressure forces some poor discipline in defence from France, and the home side have a lineout in the 22.
TRY! Scotland 7 – 14 France (Theo Attissogbe)
22 mins. From the lineout the ball moves towards the left wing via a grubber kick. Bielle-Biarrey carresses it with his left foot, first touch like a gorgeous soccer through ball, for Attissogbe to run onto and ground in-goal.
Ramos again adds two more points.
20 mins. Jones takes the ball from lineout possession and kicks to touch, a decent option that is then ruined by Graham being penalised for being in on the wrong side of the maul.
TRY! Scotland 7 – 7 France (Louis Bielle-Biarrey)
18 mins. Tuipulotu has the ball ripped off him in the tackle by Dupont, who decides now is the time to remind everyone he has the strength of ten bears. This happen on the Scottish 22 and the ball is flung quickly to Bielle-Biarrey who swan dives into the corner to ground it.
Ramos booms the conversion over from way out wide.
16 mins. The first proper visit for France to the opposition 22. A few short carries from the forwards, with Marchand leading from the front, before Jalibert calls for it and chips towards Attissogbe’s wing. He get a hand to it, but he’s surrounder by three defenders and can only slap it forward. Scotland will have an awkward defensive scrum near their own line.
14 mins. France work the ball to the right from the scrum and there’s enough sophistication in the first phase pattern to free Attissogbe into the Scotland half on the wing. He looks inside to pass to Bielle-Biarry, but it goes slightly behind the flier and to ground. In Attissogbe’s defene, his team-mate had overrun it a tad.
11 mins. Tuipulotu is carrying like a monster so far, and he has another that splinters a couple of defenders on the French 10m metre line. It presents a platform, but there’s a knock-on by a Scottish hand soon after.
9 mins. Kinghorn was forced to run the Bielle-Biarrey kick into touch, but France make a mess of their maul at the lineout, can’t get the ball out and lose possession. This is compounded with them giving a penalty away on the next play, which means Russell can clear the ball and the pressure to touch.
7 mins. Ramos decides it’s time for France to assert themselves and with a flat pass he finds Bielle-Biarrey in enough space to break on the left. He chips over Russell to chase and ricochets off the Scotland 10 to the ground. The howls from the French fans can be heard in Lille, but Ref Gardner reckons there’s nothing in it.
TRY! Scotland 7 – 0 France (Darcy Graham)
5 mins. Ben White goes quickly from a free kick given at the scrum to send Tuipulotu rampaging into the defensive line and forcing them backwards. The ball is recycled quickly and via Jones and Russell makes it’s way to Graham to open the scoring.
Russell converts.
4 mins. It’s advantage Scotland as Ramos fumbles a Russell kick forward off his chest. He was under no pressure at all, but the sun is fierce on that side of the pitch and hindered him. Scotland scrum coming in the France half.
2 mins. Some textbook take, recycle, kick periods from both sides; each probing for an opening via the boot and kick chasers. So far nothing doing for either.
Kick Off!
Jalibert chips us into action with a deep kick into Scottish territory.
“As much as I’d like to say as a Scotland fan there is always hope, and for all the talk of the attacking merits of both sides, I think the real question is one of defence.” posits Matt Sumption.
“Scotland have struggled to keep games truly tight, especially since Steve Tandy left, and you can see the team has a different focus to the 2019-22 era. On the other hand, the French defence in this tournament has looked ferocious. Cannot see Scotland being able to withstand long periods of pressure against a team with the best try scoring record in the tournament. “
It’s a glorious day in Edinburgh as the teams head out of the tunnel and onto the sun dappled grass. The formalities will be completed and then we’ll have a game to take in.
Pre match reading
Please get in touch with your thoughts and frustrations both pre-match and throughout. on the email. I look forward to reading them.
Team news
Gregor Townsend makes five changes to the side that squeaked past Wales, opting for a full overhaul of the front row and a reshuffle in the pack. Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, and D’Arcy Rae all step into the starting front row, replacing Nathan McBeth, Dave Cherry, and Zander Fagerson. In the back row, Jack Dempsey is fixed from injury and returns at number eight, prompting Matt Fagerson to shift to blindside flanker and Gregor Brown to move into the boilerhouse alongside Scott Cummings. It’s as you were in the backline.
France field the same side that overpowered Ireland back in round one. Matthieu Jalibert is back at fly‑half and with centre pairing of Yoram Moefana and Nicolas Depoortère reunited after injuries. Whether this would have happened without the finger injury to Fabien Brau‑Boirie we will never know.
Teams
Scotland
Blair Kinghorn; Darcy Graham, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Kyle Steyn; Finn Russell, Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, D’Arcy Rae, Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey.
Replacements: Ewan Ashman, Rory Sutherland, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Freddy Douglas, Josh Bayliss, George Horne, Tom Jordan.
France
Thomas Ramos; Théo Attissogbé, Nicolas Depoortère, Yoram Moefana, Louis Bielle‑Biarrey; Matthieu Jalibert, Antoine Dupont; Jean‑Baptiste Gros, Julien Marchand, Dorian Aldegheri, Charles Ollivon, Mickaël Guillard, François Cros, Oscar Jégou, Anthony Jelonch.
Replacements: Peato Mauvaka, Rodrigue Neti, Demba Bamba, Thibaud Flament, Emmanuel Meafou, Lenni Nouchi, Baptiste Serin, Pierre‑Louis Barassi.
Preamble
It’s been a “to you, to me” type of tournament so far in terms of form and results, unless you are France (or Wales, at the other end of the spectrum). Les Bleus bring their victorious mix of dazzle and confusion to Edinburgh in the hopes of continuing the Grand Slam quest, and throwing a stick in the spokes of Scotland’s improving fortunes.
This is a game to get everyone leaning forwards in their seats. Scotland, with their willingness to play, return to the scene of their dismembering of England a few weeks ago to take on a France team who have been ludicrous in their ability to turn loose ball or counter-attack into a boatload of points. France’s average score in the three victories so far is 41-11, so it’s fair to say that they are likely to get up near 30 today.
Scotland’s test is modulating the juggernaut of panache that is the French attack, while simultaneously racking up enough scores to overhaul that expected high points total. A few things are in Scotland’s favour. France haven’t been fully tested so far; in the last round Italy were in plenty of decent positions before ruining their own momentum which let Galthie’s side off the hook somewhat. They have also not found themselves behind and having to claw their way back into a game; Scotland are more than capable of putting the hammer down early in Murrayfield.
A Scotland win kiboshes the Slam plans of France and opens the tournament right up ahead of next week’s super Saturday, what more motivation could the home side have?