6N Round 1: France v Scotland, 7 February

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FRANCE v SCOTLAND
Saturday 7 February 2015
KO 17:00 (GMT)/18:00 (local)
Stade de France, Paris

Live on BBC1.

Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)
Touch Judge 1: Glen Jackson (NZR)
Touch Judge 2: Mike Fraser (NZR)
TMO: George Ayoub (ARU)

A. Teams:

1. France

15 Scott Spedding (Bayonne)
14 Yoann Huget (Toulouse)
13 Mathieu Bastareaud (Toulon)
12 Wesley Fofana (Clermont)
11 Teddy Thomas (Racing Metro)
10 Camille Lopez (Clermont)
09 Rory Kockott (Castres)

01 Alexandre Menini (Toulon)
02 Guilhem Guirado (Toulon)
03 Rabah Slimani (Stade Francais)
04 Pascal Papé (Stade Francais)
05 Yoann Maestri (Toulouse)
06 Thierry Dusautoir (c) (Toulouse)
07 Bernard Le Roux (Racing Metro)
08 Damien Chouly (Clermont )

16 Benjamin Kayser (Clermont)
17 Uini Atonio (La Rochelle)
18 Eddy Ben Arous (Racing Metro)
19 Romain Taofifenua (Toulon)
20 Loann Goujon (La Rochelle)
21 Morgan Parra (Clermont)
22 Rémi Talès (Castres)
23 Rémi Lamerat (Castres)

2. Scotland

15 Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors)
14 Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors)
13 Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors)
12 Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors)
11 Tim Visser (Edinburgh Rugby)
10 Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors)
9 Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN (Gloucester)

1 Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby)
2 Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby)
3 Euan Murray (Glasgow Warriors)
4 Richie Gray (Castres)
5 Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors)
6 Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors)
7 Blair Cowan (London Irish)
8 Johnnie Beattie (Castres)

16 Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors)
17 Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors)
18 Geoff Cross (London Irish)
19 Jim Hamilton (Saracens)
20 Alasdair Strokosch (USA Perpignan)
21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby)
22 Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors)
23 Dougie Fife (Edinburgh Rugby)

B. Tournament Form (last 3 games):

1. France

15/3/14 - France 20 - 22 Ireland

8/3/14 - Scotland 17 - 19 France

21/2/14 - Wales 27 - 6 France

2. Scotland

15/3/14 - Wales 51 - 3 Scotland

8/3/14 - Scotland 17 - 19 France

22/2/14 - Italy 20 - 21 Scotland

C. Head to Head:

87 Played 87
50 Wins 34
34 Losses 50
3 Draws 3
153 Tries 132
78 Conversions 70
119 Penalties 127
28 Drop Goals 15
1,228 Points 1,049

It really isn't ideal that we're relying on Strokosh as our back row sub. The only eventuality that he is useful for is if we have a 3 point lead and need a backs to the wall defencive effort, which is probably unlikely.

He's certainly not an impact player.

Looking to the world cup we really need a better option here - Brown? Denton?

Like the look of this team especially the starting XV. Only changes I would have made would be Tonks over Horne as think Tonks is in the better form and both can cover pretty much the same positions. Plus as mentioned by others Hornes defence is pretty poor.
Would have liked to have seen Ben Toolis given a shot from the bench but over all a pretty good selection.

Who knows with Strokosch. We all haven't seen him play for Perpignan lately and if he's in as good form as he was vs SA in the tournament vs SA,Samoa and Italy, then I think he could be a good addition. Also, he's playing FRENCH rugby so will know what to expect.

The side has been announced

1: Al Dickinson
2: Ross Ford
3: Euan Murray
4: Richie Gray
5: Jonny Gray
6: Rob Harley
7: Blair Cowan
8: Johnnie Beattie


9: Greig Laidlaw (c)
10: Finn Russell
11: Tim Visser
12: Alex Dunbar
13: Mark Bennett
14: Tommy Seymour
15: Stuart Hogg

16: Fraser Brown
17: Gordon Reid
18: Geoff Cross
19: Jim Hamilton
20 Al Strokosch
21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne
22 Peter Horne

Only two backs on the bench! So Frodo to cover 10 and Furra Linee to cover....well, 10-15 actually.
The Rev has to deliver. I don't mind admitting my heart leapt like a baggie up a burn when I saw Rob Harley's name on the teamsheet.
   
Lads!!! Pardon my Luddite ham fistedness I missed D.Fife out of the 23. That takes a load off Hornee.

Weather forecast is 2 degrees and dry.

and ffs dont drop the ball like a bar of soap like we usually do !!!
Im still quite concerned our scrum is going to get minced, and can see us conceding plenty of scrum penalties.
With that in mind I can see them using attacking mauls, and us conceding a yellow or 2 as per usual; hope not though.

apart form that its all looking as good as it could

Holy poop - I really wish that this game was only an hour long - that would mean that we don't have to use any substitutes.

Really like the starting 15, am concerned about how little I like the bench.

Ryan Grant not fit then? Cusack not considered?

Could we just give France 9 points free at the start of the match and then in recompense not penalise Big Jim at any time in the game for the inevitable refusal to stop lying all over the ball? Presumably his experience is valued over Toolis' increased mobility and superior hair.

I presume that Strokosch is also there for his experience and because if any of our forwards is going to break down it will be Harley and we need specialist blindside cover. That's the only reason I can think of for Watson not making it. That and the fact that we need ball carriers and Strokosch is one, whereas Watson isn't.

However, if that's the rationale, then I don't understand Horne instead of Tonks as our back most likely to break down mid-game is Stuart Hogg. We know that Fife can cover centre in the same way that Horne can, so I don't understand why Tonks isn't there. Is this an example of Laidlaw's versatility counting against anyone whose principal position is fly half?

Also Matt Scott, Henners Piecrustand and NoMaits are notable absentees. Whoda thunk after some of the back lines we have seen in recent years that we could leave out those three and feel sanguine about it?

alive555 wrote:Weather forecast is 2 degrees and dry.

and ffs dont drop the ball like a bar of soap like we usually do !!!
Im still quite concerned our scrum is going to get minced, and can see us conceding plenty of scrum penalties.
With that in mind I can see them using attacking mauls, and us conceding a yellow or 2 as per usual; hope not though.

apart form that its all looking as good as it could

I am actually not as scared of the French scrum as I have been over recent years. I would be happy not seeing Mas and Domingo face off against us for as long as I live.

The French front row will be good from what I hear from those who know more about French rugby than me.

With the expception of Le Roux, the rest of the pack don't frighten me all that much. I think man for man we should have them there as long as Beattie shows up.

Dunbar and Bennett need a massive game, particularly in defence and probably both need to last 80 minutes. That's a big ask for Bennett who is not long back from injury and will be in a car crash every 6 or 7 minutes.

Slimani is a far stronger scrummager than Mas these days. Guirado and Menini are playing important roles in a strong Touon scrum.

Les blues front row replacements are pretty impressive. Antonio was using his 24 stone to knock the Aussies over like skittles in the autumn, Kayser is class and Ben Arous gets around like a back rower, who also happens to be an excellent scrummager - just ask Northampton!
I really like Peter Horne for Glasgow but I don't think he is international class. he is neither quick enough or strong enough to cope with life in the midfield and the thought of Dougie Fyfe marking Huget or Thomas isn't great!
Also if Russell goes off do we more Laidlaw to ten (as a tiny speed bump for the French back row) and bring on SHC for his first cap, or does Horne, one of the most one sided kickers (left, I think) in pro rugby, move in to "control" the back line at 10?
Neither thought fills me with a lot of confidence!

So if Russell gets injured early things could go down hill very quickly.. Horne is not the greatest 10 in my opinion, although he does have some moments of genius in attack as we saw vs bath a few seasons ago.

Tonks would have made me feel so much more at ease as he covers 10 and 15. If Hogg gets injured then what? Seymour to 15, with fife coming off the bench to 14? Can seymour or fife play fullback?

Front row subs are great, I rate Reid very highly and he will bring an impact off the bench. Cross is playing better for Irish and is obviously experienced for Scotland.

Hamilton will hopefully not need to come on till late and he will hopefully not make any monumental errors of judgement and just be his giant disruptive self.

I'm excited to see how Hidalgo-clyne gets on, hope he isn't too nervous and plays well.

Strockers is a decent sub to have, solid and frustrating to play against and usually ups his game in a scotland top.

So players I am most interested to see how they perform..

Visser - He's been missing game time for scotland thanks to seymour/maitland, he is still my favourite Scottish back line player, a try scoring machine and I think this tournament he will be a standout player for Scotland.

Bennett - He didn't fair so well in autumn games, but we all know he is good so interested to see how he goes this time round.

Beattie - Will he replicate performances of 3-4 years ago or will he be as I think he has been for Scotland recently, a hard grafter who doesn't really standout much? I hope we see the latter, displays of pure power and straight-line running.

Cowan - A real 7 who I hope will make plenty of turnovers and continue his solid autumn performance.

Harley - Hope to see him playing aggressively and disruptively at the breakdown.

Both Grays - Excited to see them playing together again, this partnership may be difficult to shake off.

Ford - Hopefully his line outs will be as tight as they were last year.

And for the tactics on Saturday..

- Solid Set piece

- inventiveness in attack

- Basics done well

- Converting pressure into points

- Something new and clever (VC magic)

sensisball wrote:Slimani is a far stronger scrummager than Mas these days. Guirado and Menini are playing important roles in a strong Touon scrum.

Les blues front row replacements are pretty impressive. Antonio was using his 24 stone to knock the Aussies over like skittles in the autumn, Kayser is class and Ben Arous gets around like a back rower, who also happens to be an excellent scrummager - just ask Northampton!
I really like Peter Horne for Glasgow but I don't think he is international class. he is neither quick enough or strong enough to cope with life in the midfield and the thought of Dougie Fyfe marking Huget or Thomas isn't great!
Also  if Russell goes off do we more Laidlaw to ten (as a tiny speed bump for the French back row) and bring on SHC for his first cap, or does Horne, one of the most one sided kickers (left, I think) in pro rugby, move in to "control" the back line at 10?
Neither thought fills me with a lot of confidence!

Please can we stop bringing facts into this? I would like to run free in the green meadows of hope for a short time longer.

That's until the game starts and I realise that the landscape for the Scots game looks more like this:

Worth considering that we have 12 players on the injured list,
Not considered through injury: Adam Ashe (neck), Chris Cusiter (knee), Chris Fusaro (ankle), Grant Gilchrist (arm), Tyrone Holmes (face), Ruaridh Jackson (knee), Sean Lamont (calf), Henry Pyrgos (knee), Matt Scott (shoulder), Tim Swinson (calf), Duncan Taylor (hamstring), Duncan Weir (arm).

add Bane, Bluto and the Mighty Coo to that list and you could get
1. Grant/Shrek
2.Brown
3. Cusack (I've probably got the props the wrong places, in all my years of captaining sides I just let the fat boys sort it out among themselves)
4. Gilchrist
5. Toolis/Swinson
6. Bluto
7. Fusaro/Holmes
8.Ashe/Dozer
9.Cooseater/Henners
10. Meatball/Rhuaridh
11.Schlong
12. Scott(12)/Hornee
13.Taylor
14.Fife/Brown
15.Tonks

Actually, we're beginning to look as if we have real depth of talent to our squad. You do wonder how Ryan Wilson must be feeling: I've heard it gets pretty lonely in the Batcave.

Just seen the team and currently enjoying that tingling sensation of, you know what, we might just do it!

GLove39 wrote:Just seen the team and currently enjoying that tingling sensation of, you know what, we might just do it!

Like I have never heard that one before!!!!

RDW_Scotland wrote:Tyrone Holmes (face)

That is a little harsh, I know he has the looks of a front row forward but still

Team does look increasingly settled which is very good news however a lot, unfortunately, comes down to the scrum and whether Murray can recapture some of his old form. We should do well at the lineout if Ford continues playing as he has been but I'd hate us to start giving away scrum penalties, just look what happened in the Bath/Glasgow match.

or the Glasgow Edinburgh match. Who'd have thunk that Dickinson would eat Euan Murray with a burger and chips in a scrum 5 years ago?

If we can play like we did against the Pumas, win the territory battle to negate their power up front and take our chances we'll win. But if we make silly mistakes and end up pinned in our 22, we'll probably lose.

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:or the Glasgow Edinburgh match. Who'd have thunk that Dickinson would eat Euan Murray with a burger and chips in a scrum 5 years ago?

As a Glasgow supporter, much as it pains me, I have to agree. I think our scrum will hold up

reallybored wrote:If we can play like we did against the Pumas, win the territory battle to negate their power up front and take our chances we'll win.  But if we make silly mistakes and end up pinned in our 22, we'll probably lose.

And provided we don't switch off like we did that day.

GLove39 wrote:

reallybored wrote:If we can play like we did against the Pumas, win the territory battle to negate their power up front and take our chances we'll win.  But if we make silly mistakes and end up pinned in our 22, we'll probably lose.

And provided we don't switch off like we did that day.

Hopefully that lesson was learnt that day.  No more nonsense on our own try-line with time left on the clock.

Weegie Wizard wrote:The French front row will be good from what I hear from those who know more about French rugby than me.

With the expception of Le Roux, the rest of the pack don't frighten me all that much. I think man for man we should have them there as long as Beattie shows up.

Dunbar and Bennett need a massive game, particularly in defence and probably both need to last 80 minutes. That's a big ask for Bennett who is not long back from injury and will be in a car crash every 6 or 7 minutes.

Hoping to see very big games from Beattie and Richie Gray as both look as if they will looking for new clubs at the end of the season as Castres are getting closer and closer to relegation. Huge occasion for both if they are looking to stay in France and be in the shop window for other clubs to have a look at them on the big occasion.

It's going to super strange watching France play in red in this fixture. I like the look of the Scotland team.

Looks like Tonks will be the 24th man - he's with the team off to Paris anyway.

Anyway doing the espn 6 nations fantasy league this year?

Interesting to see Horne has been chosen over Tonks and is going to be used as back up 10. Vern could possibly have one eye on the world cup squad and see how Horne goes at 10 off the bench and if he does well could be back up 10 at the world cup as none of the others have put their hands up to any great extent. Also Horne's versatility will be v useful for the world cup squad.

Interested to see that you guys are getting 10 points on the handicap bets at the bookies, I reckon there's no chance you'll lose by more than 10, and will be all over that one

That's the same handicap as PP are giving Italy

Notch wrote:It's going to super strange watching France play in red in this fixture. I like the look of the Scotland team.

3rd time in their history they play in red (at least at home). first two were victories in case you ask (and one against Scotland in the 50s I think).

Well to give us some confidence, let's look back at Scotland's length of the field try from two years ago - Matt Scott (who got smashed for his efforts!) and Tim Visser at their best!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzZiONT8sY0



Nice wee block from Lamont too - knocking their guy over off the ball to create the space!

See. Lamont does things to allow us to score!

Bring back the Shlong!

BamBam wrote:Interested to see that you guys are getting 10 points on the handicap bets at the bookies, I reckon there's no chance you'll lose by more than 10, and will be all over that one

Spreadex is +11 @ 19/20 if you want a little extra protection.

Couldn't be happier with the starting XV, let's hope Harley and Hogg perform well after being out for a while. Would have preferred KB on the bench instead of Big Stroker but it is what it is.

Hope Hoggy's been working on catching the high ball as it could be a long afternoon if he's not secure there.

I am pretty happy with the team as well, albeit with a little bit of reservation that Hoggy and Harley may be a little rusty. Still I am sure they would not be in the team if not fit, so have to trust that. We are a bit light on backs on the bench and I would probably have preferred Tonks on the bench as well, but those selections have been largely dictated by injury so I guess we have to live with them.

The starting XV is pretty much the one I would have picked, so can't say I am not happy. I travel to France with real hope!

RDW_Scotland wrote:Well to give us some confidence, let's look back at Scotland's length of the field try from two years ago - Matt Scott (who got smashed for his efforts!) and Tim Visser at their best!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzZiONT8sY0



Nice wee block from Lamont too - knocking their guy over off the ball to create the space!

Man great finishing and ambition but when you look at it- it wasn't a wee block was it? Pretty decisively big block for my money

If you pull off a few blocks like that on your way to victory I won't be complaining!

Pretty chuffed with the team and hopefully we have a sufficient lead, i.e 40 points, that when that bench comes on for the last 5 mins we don't give the lead away. I've seen no French games and none of the top 14 teams except Toulon, Toulouse, Montpellier and Clermont since last six nations so can't really comment but I haven't seen anything from a French team for a while that frightens me and Bastareaud against Bennett should be a treat however they are undoubtedly talented and given the tragedies that have occurred over the last few weeks we'll be playing a whole nation and we of all countries knows what can happen then so regardless of the result I'm looking forward to the game and hope the French produce a fantastic performance that their nation and the city deserves and that Scotland still beat them.

123456789 wrote:Pretty chuffed with the team and hopefully we have a sufficient lead, i.e 40 points, that when that bench comes on for the last 5 mins we don't give the lead away. I've seen no French games and none of the top 14 teams except Toulon, Toulouse, Montpellier and Clermont since last six nations so can't really comment but I haven't seen anything from a French team for a while that frightens me and Bastareaud against Bennett should be a treat however they are undoubtedly talented and given the tragedies that have occurred over the last few weeks we'll be playing a whole nation and we of all countries knows what can happen then so regardless of the result I'm looking forward to the game and hope the French produce a fantastic performance that their nation and the city deserves and that Scotland still beat them.

Thats a good point, maybe its France's tournament to win?  i think sometimes in sport the fine margin's between victory and defeat can be influenced by outside contributing factors, the fairy-tail story if you like? Maybe better France's "one nation reeling from those atrocity's" Script is better than our "eternal underdog with hope but new talent emerging" Script?

and the fact that they are at home and widely regarded as better players, oh christ we have a mountain to climb, maybe that's our secret weapon in our script?

RDW_Scotland wrote:Looks like Tonks will be the 24th man - he's with the team off to Paris anyway.

He should be on the bench instead of Horne in my opinion. I don't really see what Horne would add to the team, he was poor when he came on against Bath and was the one who throw the ball to Bananaman. At least penalty machine Swinson isn't on the bench!

Beattie was good for Castres against Toulouse hope he carries on with that form.

I think Horne has slipped into the category of solid league player; the type we chuck out against the Dragons, Connacht or the Italians, he showed against Bath he's not good enough for the champions cup and I can't remember anything of him in a Scotland shirt apart from when he was flattened by Tuilagi. He should not be playing for Scotland on current form and has a real fight to make the world cup unless he picks up. He's behind Russell, Weir and Jackson at 10 in my opinion and behind Dunbar, Bennett, Scott and Taylor at centre.

For me Horne is a bit like Murchie, OK player as a backup option but neither should start for Glasgow if they are to to take the next step. His inclusion here is a bit baffling to be honest.

The difference in the Glasgow team when Bennett started instead of Horne was absolutely huge.

Notch wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Well to give us some confidence, let's look back at Scotland's length of the field try from two years ago - Matt Scott (who got smashed for his efforts!) and Tim Visser at their best!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzZiONT8sY0



Nice wee block from Lamont too - knocking their guy over off the ball to create the space!

Man great finishing and ambition but when you look at it- it wasn't a wee block was it? Pretty decisively big block for my money

If you pull off a few blocks like that on your way to victory I won't be complaining!

All the best attacking teams run dodgy blocking lines!

Like the XV, bench not so much. Pretty exciting back line!

Just been trying to find stats on Horne and this came up...

VinceWLB wrote:he was poor when he came on against Bath and was the one who throw the ball to Bananaman..

Fairly sure he's the one that gave visser the run in during the 1872 too...

Made the mistake of watching Scrum V's 6 Nations special on IPlayer tonight.

Couldn't cope with all of the snickering from Martyn Williams about how little he rates Scotland. The person that was most moderate and suggested that we would be difficult to beat at home was Guscott.

But are we kidding ourselves that we can put together a string of wins? Club form suggests that we can but all of the other teams apart from England have settled and experienced internationalists. I cannot find a baseline for understanding whether the optimism has any basis in reality or not.

George Carlin wrote:Made the mistake of watching Scrum V's 6 Nations special on IPlayer tonight.

Couldn't cope with all of the snickering from Martyn Williams about how little he rates Scotland. The person that was most moderate and suggested that we would be difficult to beat at home was Guscott.

But are we kidding ourselves that we can put together a string of wins? Club form suggests that we can but all of the other teams apart from England have settled and experienced internationalists. I cannot find a baseline for understanding whether the optimism has any basis in reality or not.

They are simply jealous of our utter, almost incomprehensible brilliance.

In the past 9 years they have only beaten Australia once in 15 matches. In the past 6 years we've beaten them twice in 3 matches. So their win rate is ~7%, whilst ours is 67%. And we managed that with Danielli and Morrison. They wish they were Scottish for the upcoming RWC...

George Carlin wrote:Made the mistake of watching Scrum V's 6 Nations special on IPlayer tonight.

Couldn't cope with all of the snickering from Martyn Williams about how little he rates Scotland. The person that was most moderate and suggested that we would be difficult to beat at home was Guscott.

Had to laugh at Jonny Gray being compared to 'a young Alun Wyn-Jones'. He's much better than he was at 20, and looks to have a much bigger ceiling!

I'm excited to watch the brothers Gray smashing things up in Rounds 1 to 4, but wouldn't mind seeing at least the younger having Round 5 off

Notch wrote:

George Carlin wrote:Made the mistake of watching Scrum V's 6 Nations special on IPlayer tonight.

Couldn't cope with all of the snickering from Martyn Williams about how little he rates Scotland. The person that was most moderate and suggested that we would be difficult to beat at home was Guscott.

Had to laugh at Jonny Gray being compared to 'a young Alun Wyn-Jones'. He's much better than he was at 20, and looks to have a much bigger ceiling!

I'm excited to watch the brothers Gray smashing things up in Rounds 1 to 4, but wouldn't mind seeing at least the younger having Round 5 off

That's brilliant, love the Welsh. Is Richie Gray merely a young Robert Sidoli, and Josh Strauss the next Brett Sinkinson??

I was going to make a smart remark about Bennett being the next BOD, but he's better than that. Potentially the next JD2 even!

George Carlin wrote:Made the mistake of watching Scrum V's 6 Nations special on IPlayer tonight.

Couldn't cope with all of the snickering from Martyn Williams about how little he rates Scotland. The person that was most moderate and suggested that we would be difficult to beat at home was Guscott.

But are we kidding ourselves that we can put together a string of wins? Club form suggests that we can but all of the other teams apart from England have settled and experienced internationalists. I cannot find a baseline for understanding whether the optimism has any basis in reality or not.

After England, Wales are the team I want us to beat most. For the good of my sanity!

Agreed. They are very world class and it would be a huge feather in our caps.