Scotland vs France: Scots crumple before France reaction
Scotland vs France will be in what looks to be a fantastic Six Nations match on Saturday at Murrayfield. Rugby fans worldwide are called to book Six Nations 2024 tickets from our online platform ticketing. co. Rugby fans can book France Six Nations Tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.
Scotland enters the match fresh off a wild Test match against Wales in Cardiff, where Gregor Townsend’s team put up two radically different performances in each half. Even yet, the Scots’ historic victory was greeted with exhaling rather than celebration after conceding 26 unanswered points and winning by the slimmest of margins. It was their first win in Cardiff in 22 years.
Arriving at Murrayfield, France has an unfavourable record after losing to Ireland by 38 points for the first time on French territory. Their wounds were further aggravated by the humiliating 21-point loss margin, and this week’s retaliation in the French media has been nothing short of nasty.
Coach under pressure
Les Bleus have a point to prove, a head coach under pressure, and a battered ego when they travel to the capital of Scotland. It’s a regular occurrence for previous French teams to fall apart at the seams, creating rifts that split the team, but this French team is different, or so we’ve been told, and now is their chance to prove it.
Scotland, on the other hand, will be keen to live up to the potential that their all-star team possesses and demonstrate that the crushing defeat they inflicted on Wales in the first half was not an isolated incident. They were favourites to defeat Wales in the first round, but this weekend’s matchup with France will give us a far better idea of where they are as a unit as they aim to challenge for the championship.
Where the game will be won
This writer said last week that the playmaker battle would determine whether the game was won or lost in Cardiff, and it turned out to be true as Finn Russell’s masterful first-half performance was just enough to push the Scots over the finish line.
That is where the French will feel like they have the advantage, though, as the Scottish pack’s second-half shift proved to be their undoing. Only four of Scotland’s nine feeds were won against Wales, and the team lost two of its six lineouts. These are the kinds of statistics that they cannot afford to repeat against France in the scrums. Though that is an impressive statistic in and of itself, they gave Wales far too many lineouts (20) in total despite managing to disrupt Wales’ lineout six times.
France First ever-championship
France’s first-ever Championship loss was due to several factors, the most detrimental of which was undoubtedly the lineout. Out of their eighteen throws, Ireland was able to successfully intercept four of them. They also made every effort to disrupt every single set-piece possession. Although they will miss his heft and weight in the second row this week due to Paul Willemse’s dismissal, Cameron Woki’s elevation to the starting XV will undoubtedly ease France’s lineout intricacies.
Both packs will be keen to improve on their performances from round one, but the lineout remains the most prolific source of tries in Test rugby. This tendency was evident over the first weekend of the Six Nations. Their breakdown accuracy was as sharp as a rolling pin, and France was hammered on the gain line. Their scrum, which easily defeated Ireland in one of the few areas of the game where that happened, is something they will be proud of.
In the second half, Scotland’s effectiveness against Wales was not limited to the gain line; they also showed similar effectiveness in the breakdown, even though their scrum was primarily dominated by the Welsh pack. This one is likely to go to whichever pack can deliver a more complete and effective performance.
Last time they met
They claimed that after Scotland’s defeat in the first round. Head coach Gregor Townsend is preparing his team for a fierce comeback from the opponents.
“The Scotland manager stated, we know them as well as any team we’ll come up against. In a year, this will be the team’s fourth matchup with France. We’ve played some amazing games against them in the past year, but they have a lot of jackals on their side, so we’ll need to play at our very best physically, both in defence and in the contact area.”
“They were down a player for most of the game and they were playing against a very strong Irish team. From their point of view, the French know they didn’t play their best rugby, so I predict a response. They did make a comeback at one point, even with just 14 players on the field, but we know that even with 15 players, they are still a good squad and among the top three or four in the world.”
Although France’s assistant coach William Servat claims his team has moved past their World Cup setback. They have carried the wounds from their first-round loss into their preparation for their match against Scotland.
“The Ireland stigmata will be used to prepare for the Scotland match,” he affirmed. But Ireland’s game wasn’t prepared using World Cup standards. This group now includes new players and a new staff. In the clubs, the tournaments follow one another, so the players are accustomed to getting ready for new tasks. “
“It is possible to shift from being dominating to being dominated in a scrum, and vice versa. Talking about the performance against Ireland while attempting to bring South Africa to mind would be a mistake.”
Players to watch
Jack Dempsey, who was oddly named on the bench against Wales last week, is back in the starting lineup for the Scots. The industrious back-rower will exert significant pressure on the French on both ends of the field. But he will be especially crucial when the ball is in hand and facing an intimidating French defence that Shaun Edwards is sure to have rolled over.
Dempsey is a strong player in possession, and he needs to consistently earn gain-line success if Scotland is to have any hope of winning. This weekend, Finn Russell will be sharing the captaincy. But when it comes to leading the Scottish attack, it will all be his show. With outstanding kicking ability and tactical accuracy, the fly-half dazzled the Welsh crowd with his performance against them.
Duhan van der
This weekend, he takes on the formidable Matthieu Jalibert, but he is eager to dive in and tug the strings. With a magnificent double last week, Duhan van der Merwe put an end to any worries regarding his lack of tries. The first seemed like a cunning support line, while the second was just plain clever. Damian Penaud, France’s prolific try-scorer, will be standing up opposite him this weekend. So the acerbic winger will be eager to make another declaration of intent.
Talk about seizing the chance as much as possible. Paul Gabrillagues took a big risk last weekend to earn his first cap since 2019. In an otherwise unimpressive effort by Les Bleus, he stood out clearly. The diligent second-rower put in the kind of diligent work that first led to his recall. He also made his name appear on the scoresheet. Rugby fans can book Scotland Vs France Tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.
Antoine Dupont Replacement
As he steps in to replace Antoine Dupont, scrum-half Maxime Lucu will once again be the centre of attention after he struggled in his first start of the season. The Bordeaux number nine is a sophisticated player in his way, and even though we did not see that in the first round, he is determined to correct the record. He simply needs a lot more support from the other jersey numbers with one digit in front of him.
This weekend, Gael Fickou and Jonathan Danty will also be scrutinized as they performed far below their high expectations against Ireland. The two were regarded as one of the best centre combinations in the game not too long ago. But against Ireland, they were as anonymous as the box office. There is no denying their ability, but if they put on a similarly dismal show against Scotland’s adored “Huwipulotu” combination. Especially on defence, it will be another long night for French supporters.
Main head-to-head
There are interesting head-to-heads in the starting lineups for the match as well as on the bench. But we can’t overlook the fight between Francois Cros and Rory Darge. Because the breakdown and gain line is predicted to be a game-deciding factor. Though they approach it differently, both players seem to live and breathe the breakdown.
The bulldozing Frenchman and the livewire Scottish pilferer are two opposing extremes of this dynamic. Both have very successful methods and will want to leave their mark. After recovering from his injuries, Darge immediately enters the starting lineup and is given the additional duty of co-captaining the team. In the back row, he has been chosen above Jamie Ritchie and combines well with teammates Matt Fagerson and Dempsey of the Glasgow Warriors.
Although Townsend’s loose trio are industrious labourers who will put in a lot of effort during their shift. Darge’s performance will be vital because he must halt France’s momentum in critical areas of the field and ignite Scotland with his explosive carries when in possession.
With his breakdown precision and power being the main contributions. He makes to the game, Cros will face comparable tasks for France. Cros can focus on his strongest attribute, which is hammering into rucks and tackles. Because of the well-rounded skill sets of other back-rowers Charles Ollivon and Gregory Alldritt.
Prediction
Both teams have won six of their last 10 meetings, with Scotland taking home the other four. Recent history between the two teams indicates that it might go either way. By winning two of their three games, Les Blues defeated Scotland in the previous year. Nonetheless, the previous two games were decided by three and four points, in that order.
Townsend’s team will be keen to declare a statement victory over the injured French team because they no longer have the upper hand against Scotland. We believe, however, that they will not prevail. As a passionate Les Bleus team will overcome a deficit to win by eleven points.
Previous results
France won 30-27 in Saint-Etienne in 2023
Scotland won 25-21 at Murrayfield in 2023
France won 32-21 in Paris in 2023
France won 36-17 at Murrayfield in 2022
Scotland won 27-23 in Paris in 2021
France won 22-15 at Murrayfield in 2020
Scotland won 28-17 at Murrayfield in 2020
Scotland won 17-14 at Murrayfield in 2019
France won 32-3 in Nice in 2019
France won 27-10 in Paris in 2019
The teams
Scotland: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Kyle Steyn, 23 Cameron Redpath, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu. 4 Grant Gilchrist, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey 11 Duhan van der Merwe. 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman, 3 Zander Fagerson
Replacements: 20 Andy Christie, 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Alec Hepburn, 21 George Horne. 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Sam Skinner, 22 Ben Healy,
France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey. 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Grégory Alldritt (c), 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 François Cros, 5 Paul Gabrillagues. 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 19 Posolo Tuilagi, 16 Julien Marchard, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 17 Sébastien Taofifenua. 22 Nolann Le Garrec, 21 Paul Boudehent, 20 Alexandre Roumat, 23 Yoram Moefana
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