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

Some great potential Scrum V slogans:

"Stuart Hogg: Almost as good as Chris Czekaj"

"Halfpenny v Bennett: Our deity is better than yours"

"Glasgow: They beat us and we have no idea how, given all the Scots involved"

Andy Nicol, a poor man's Jiffy??

Actually fair enough!

Some great potential Scrum V slogans:
john Barclay: joined the Scarlets and became international class.

I want to see us cuff the Welsh too. My dad has been intolerable with his snooty arrogance....

It is sad that we are widley seen as mincers by the rest of the 6N however it's a deserved observation. We have been hummin' for the last wee while.

I certainly hope the 6N coaches think of us in the same terms.

I have a feeling that Scotland may surprise a few people in this match. I believe it will e a very close match with France just edging it. Scotland will not be as weak as in recent years.

Well this England fan certainly doesn't see you chaps as mincers this time round.

Big fan of the likes of Jonny Gray and the centres, if Russell continues to build on his last few appearances I reckon you might shock a few.

If it comes against the Welsh, all the better

Only a day and a bit left until we start!

I think the messiah could end up being our key man tomorrow. Basteraud is the guy the French use to rush out in defence in a blitz so if we can get the ball out to Bennett quickly enough He should be able to run round him quite regularly. He also faces the tough job of getting Basteraud down before the gain line. If he manages it a few times, I fancy Dunbar will be able to win a few turnovers with his work over the ball before the French get there.

Normally I would have no doubt about Him managing it but I think this game is a little too soon after the injury and we'll need to rely on Horne at some point.

I'm not worried about Bennett's fitness but I do have a real concern over the match fitness of Harley and Hogg. If one of those guys is breathing out their backside after 50 mins, we could be in trouble!

This is bennets first game in 6 nations . Hope he doesn't bottle it

Wales man of the match

Scott Spedding tribute

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

Teddy Thomas

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

I really want to see Scotland do well tomorrow but perhaps French fans are just as optimistic? Both teams have very good backlines..

Forward battle and 10/9 management may well be key for this one! Very excited for the game, could be a real thriller!

Don't want to put a dampener on precsedings but Scotland win rate on opening day is 6pc. 1 win in 15 attempts

Good luck Scotland- got a feeling you will surprise France today. Scotland are a very different prospect to last year.
Looking forward to the game - less stressful for me than last night!

My overriding emotion this morning is that I can't help but think we're building ourselves up for a massive fall.

Listening to the pundits last night we're really getting talked up this year, and this doesn't change the fact that to beat anyone bar Italy this year will be a significant achievement and well against the odds.

Agreed RDW. Spedding looks deadly and we all know what Fofana and Bastereaud are capable of. Huget has an extremely low error count and Thomas is a real athlete. Saint-Andre finally seems to have figured out his back line.

I think winning in Paris is a huge ask for Cotter so early on in his tenure.

RDW_Scotland wrote:My overriding emotion this morning is that I can't help but think we're building ourselves up for a massive fall.

Listening to the pundits last night we're really getting talked up this year, and this doesn't change the fact that to beat anyone bar Italy this year will be a significant achievement and well against the odds.

Are Scotland going to be as bad as they were under the big haired Scott Johnson?  If the answer is no then the sky is the limit.  Cotter knows a lot more about pacing a game and making players play in the right areas - he's coached in a demanding league that requires a highly tuned brain to compete week in and week out.

If Cotter can't bring a new dimension, and confidence and enthusiasm to Scotland that makes them much more of a handful for the opposition then I don't know what coach really will.  It's now or never for Scotland.  Not only have the players got to prove that all they needed was a good coach (like Ireland before them) but they also have to start selling Scotland to the next potential coach too.  
If Cotter can't make these players click then it could be a while before another highly valued coach looks their way.  With Cotter they have a chance now to not only work well under him but place themselves in the shop window for other ambitious coaches who might follow Cotter and see Scotland as a nice way to enhance their CV.

My levels of boredom were such that I watched scrum v's six nations preview and I think the Welsh have been successful for too long, Martyn Williams made Jonathan davies look unbiased and balanced.

Oh for heavens sake, children.

Take the hair shirts off. Stop the masochists theatre. We're missing the point.

There are no expectations from any rugby press or anyone outside Scotland. We have nothing to lose. It's a gift.

Of course we lost against France for the past 15 years. We had abnormalities like Andy Henderson, Nikki Walker, Graeme Morrison and Simon Danielle in the team. We might as well have played a photograph of them instead.

I am not embarrassed of this Scotland side. I am not expecting a win. Just a bloody good game of rugby from the men in blue. And I'm confident I'll get it.

My name is GC. And I am an alcoholic.
No, wait. That's Tuesdays.

I've expected a win from Scotland every single game since the early days of Andy Robinson optimism so see no reason to change my opinion now we have some decent players

Ha ha, GC. That's outstanding!

IanBru: Hello, my name is Ian, and I'm a Scotland rugby supporter.

All: Hello Ian

IanBru: It has been three hours since I last thought Scotland will beat France. I was looking at our backline and... I know I shouldn't have done it. I saw our centres and started picturing Dunbar offloading to Bennett on a scissors move.

Pale man in the corner: ...Scissors... scissors...

IanBru: Bennett sprinted clear, drew his man and offloaded to...

Group Leader: IAN! You have to stop. These fantasies are a destructive influence in your life. You have to accept that you are powerless to control your addiction. You must recognise that only a higher power can restore you to sanity!

[dramatic pause]

Now, tell me all of you, who is the higher power?

All: Mark Bennett?

Group Leader: You know what? Screw it. I'm off for a drink.

[Group Leader storms off, throwing his notes in the air]

Ah that feeling of optimism slowly being replaced with dread....the curse of being a supporter of Scottish Rugby.

Outstanding, Bru.

Ahhhhh, pre game nerves.
We can do this right..?

I don't think I can watch this.

i hope they can play better then they sing

Good luck Scotland.

The joke here is South Africa is supposedly known for their forwards, but our backs outnumber our forwards by 2-1 in this match.

Very good defence from the boys in blue so far, just need to avoid stupid penalties. Keep pressuring the lineout.

They really are getting across the gainline too easily.

Is Fife on for seymour? What happened?

South Africa are playing quite well

Great step from hogg! Shame Russell fluffed the drop goal

Shouldn't have rushed that - England showed what happens if you just hold onto the ball

I really cant stand Huget, great player but a horrible cheat.

Will be delighted if it is this close at half time!

It's so annoying going to Other people's houses when the rugby is on.

Far too many knock ons in contact

Beattie having a complete stinker!!

Hogg playing well!

Great try Scotland, come on beat these blokes

Great try!!! Fantastic from Bennett

Hogg on the other hand is having a wonderful game, and cracking offload from the Messiah.

great try Scotland...just what the doctor ordered before half time!!

great play scotland. you can win this. need to stop the silly pens in rucks.

Great stuff from Scotland, really attacking play. Hogg is simply brilliant and the French have no idea how to read him.

Massive 40 coming up

Harley and Hogg are looking great, might have gotten a try if Russell hadn't gone for the droppie. The Messiah is skinning Bastereaud on the outside.

Bennett looking very much at home at this level.

Just a shame we've missed some kicks and aren't ahead!