6N 2017: France v Scotland, 12 February

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FRANCE v SCOTLAND
12 February 2017
16:00 CET (UTC+1)
Stade de France, Paris

Referee: Jaco Peyper (RSA)
Touch judges: John Lacey (IRE) & Luke Pearce (ENG)
TMO: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRE)

Live on [BBC, RTE, DMAX, FR2, ITV (H)]

A. Head to Head

90 Played 90
52 Won 35
3 Drawn 3
35 Lost 52
1,280 Points 1,102

B. Recent Form

13 March 2016
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
29 – 18 to Scotland

5 September 2015
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
19 – 16 to France

7 February 2015
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
15 – 8 to France

8 March 2014
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
17 – 19 to France

16 March 2013
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
23 – 16 to France

26 February 2012
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
17 – 23 to France

C. Teams

FRANCE 

15-Scott Spedding; 14-Noa Nakaitaci, 13-Remi Lamerat, 12-Gael Fickou, 11-Virimi Vakatawa; 10-Camille Lopez, 9-Baptiste Serin; 1-Cyril Baille, 2-Guilhem Guirado, 3-Uini Atonio, (captain), 4-Sebastien Vahaamahina, 5-Yoann Maestri, 6-Loann Goujon, 7-Kevin Gourdon, 8-Louis Picamoles,

Replacements: 16-Christopher Tolofua, 17-Rabah Slimani, 18-Xavier Chiocci, 19-Julian Le Devedec, 20-Damien Chouly, 21-Maxime Machenaud, 22-Jean-Marc Doussain, 23-Yoann Huget

SCOTLAND

15-Stuart Hogg, 14-Sean Maitland, 13-Tommy Seymour, 12-Huw Jones, 11-Alex Dunbar, 10-Finn Russell, 9-Greig Laidlaw; 1-Allan Dell, 2-Fraser Brown, 3-Zander Fagerson, 4-Richie Gray, 5-Jonny Gray, 6-John Barclay, 7-Josh Strauss, 8- Hamish Watson.

Replacements: 16-Ross Ford, 17-Gordon Reid, 18-Simon Berghan, 19-Tim Swinson, 20-John Hardie, 21-Alistair Price, 22-Duncan Weir, 23-Mark Bennett.

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:Stroks had an article in the mail this morning saying that Scotland could run them ragged if they move their forwards about. He's played against 14 of the likely starting 15 and reckons they be blowing out their erses 2nd half.

I think Cotter needs to keep the same team and bench where possible although I'd start Barclay and bring Watson on 2nd half.

I said the same thing! The French pack is humongous where as we're far more mobile. One up pick and goes are not going to do us any favours here! We need to play with a high tempo and go side to side until gaps appear in the middle or the French stay tight in and we go around them.

I'm hoping we can do well in this match as we should have no fear over France with Edinburgh and Glasgow progressing in Europe passed French teams!

tigertattie wrote:

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:Stroks had an article in the mail this morning saying that Scotland could run them ragged if they move their forwards about. He's played against 14 of the likely starting 15 and reckons they be blowing out their erses 2nd half.

I think Cotter needs to keep the same team and bench where possible although I'd start Barclay and bring Watson on 2nd half.

I said the same thing! The French pack is humongous where as we're far more mobile. One up pick and goes are not going to do us any favours here! We need to play with a high tempo and go side to side until gaps appear in the middle or the French stay tight in and we go around them.  

I'm hoping we can do well in this match as we should have no fear over France with Edinburgh and Glasgow progressing in Europe passed French teams!

Agree completely - as has been said (by me... ahem), the model for this match surely has to be the Racing match in Paris - run them around in the first 20, and make them blow, and if they're exhausted they won't be able to generate any power when they do have the ball.

The key question is scrum-half. Of course, we know Vern will start Wee Greig, but I wonder whether it's worth starting Price to contribute to the overall pace of the game?

Price is a shout but he's never going to start ahead of the captain.

What could happen though is Greig is told to go out that and move the french about (he's renowned for his game management after all) Go hell for leather for 50 mins and tire the french and himself out, then Price comes on to inject his pace on the game and open France up?

It is a balancing act - something that Glasgow have taken years to master - because if we just fling it about like a game of 7s then we'll just shuffle across the pitch and France will easily swallow us up.

We definitely need to up the tempo but also vary our game - if we go wide all the time France will just shuffle across the pitch and won't commit number near the breakdown. We need to keep them guessing and make them commit numbers - so vary between pick and goes, one out passes with a tip on option like the Gray brothers do so well, chips over the top, going wide etc.

Basically we need to play like Glasgow when they are at their best, not the Glasgow that has come unstuck in recent years by being too fast and loose!

Well reading at some posts here it feels like France will only be allowed to defend during 80 minutes. The truth is that for a very static pack they also have the one of the best offload and linebreak stats of last round. as for what Strokosh is saying remind me when last he played in the top14...
Good luck to yall as if your mobile pack get ouplayed it will be some hangover over here

whocares wrote:Well reading at some posts here it feels like France will only be allowed to defend during 80 minutes. The truth is that for a very static pack they also have the one of the best offload and linebreak stats of last round. as for what Strokosh is saying remind me when last he played in the top14...
Good luck to yall as if your mobile pack get ouplayed it will be some hangover over here

Ha ha, I think you're right to be suspicious! Obviously France will get the ball (and probably the majority of possession), but I think Scotland won against Ireland by being so much more effective on the occasions when they did have ball in hand, hence the question of what we do in that situation.

I think if I had France's forward resources (i.e. some huge yet skillful lumps), I'd play a really big pack too, and try to generate a strong platform for the backs. The downside to that is the fatigue that inevitably sets in. I fancy Scotland's forwards to be fitter over the course of the 80, but if they're utterly dominated by France and are three tries down with 10 minutes left, it won't matter which pack is still on its feet!

whocares wrote:Well reading at some posts here it feels like France will only be allowed to defend during 80 minutes. The truth is that for a very static pack they also have the one of the best offload and linebreak stats of last round. as for what Strokosh is saying remind me when last he played in the top14...
Good luck to yall as if your mobile pack get ouplayed it will be some hangover over here

You are of course correct - it is naive to think that we'll have the ball for 80 minutes so we need to have a strategy to deal with the French attack too. Picamoles worries me as we're missing a real big hitter in defence to stop him in his tracks. Your new found offloading game is also a worry - if they get it right it is very hard to defend against.

France problem is they are clearly opposite of Scotland when it comes to attacking efficiency. That's the curse of this offloading game really and also a lack of killer instinct and keeping their head cool.

Picamoles is a fantastic player and the Gray Bros will need to keep a close eye on him

whocares wrote:France problem is they are clearly opposite of Scotland when it comes to attacking efficiency. That's the curse of this offloading game really and also a lack of killer instinct and keeping their head cool.

I think we are getting a bit carried away here. Scotland have been famous for years for getting to the try line then shuffling back and forward until eventually knocking on, getting turned over, conceding a pen etc.

I'm hopeful we can continue the ruthlessness we showed against Ireland but France are a big team and we're unlikely to be able to go through them, so will likely need to get wide.

France are a good team and as such we're also going to have to be solid in defence. We'll need to close them down early and not let the French players get momentum otherwise they are going to be a nightmare to stop.

Should be another good game.

France: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Rémi Lamerat, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Kévin Gourdon, 6 Loann Goujon, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Xavier Chiocci, 19 Julian Le Devedec, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain, 23 Yoann Huget

http://www.planetrugby.com/news/france-make-one-change-for-scotland/

IanBru wrote:

whocares wrote:Well reading at some posts here it feels like France will only be allowed to defend during 80 minutes. The truth is that for a very static pack they also have the one of the best offload and linebreak stats of last round. as for what Strokosh is saying remind me when last he played in the top14...
Good luck to yall as if your mobile pack get ouplayed it will be some hangover over here

Ha ha, I think you're right to be suspicious! Obviously France will get the ball (and probably the majority of possession), but I think Scotland won against Ireland by being so much more effective on the occasions when they did have ball in hand, hence the question of what we do in that situation.

I think if I had France's forward resources (i.e. some huge yet skillful lumps), I'd play a really big pack too, and try to generate a strong platform for the backs. The downside to that is the fatigue that inevitably sets in. I fancy Scotland's forwards to be fitter over the course of the 80, but if they're utterly dominated by France and are three tries down with 10 minutes left, it won't matter which pack is still on its feet!

You weren't at the Edinburgh Racing game a few years ago then?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/15762165

Still the best game of rugby I've ever seen.

That's one hell of a bench!!!!

des wrote:

IanBru wrote:

whocares wrote:Well reading at some posts here it feels like France will only be allowed to defend during 80 minutes. The truth is that for a very static pack they also have the one of the best offload and linebreak stats of last round. as for what Strokosh is saying remind me when last he played in the top14...
Good luck to yall as if your mobile pack get ouplayed it will be some hangover over here

Ha ha, I think you're right to be suspicious! Obviously France will get the ball (and probably the majority of possession), but I think Scotland won against Ireland by being so much more effective on the occasions when they did have ball in hand, hence the question of what we do in that situation.

I think if I had France's forward resources (i.e. some huge yet skillful lumps), I'd play a really big pack too, and try to generate a strong platform for the backs. The downside to that is the fatigue that inevitably sets in. I fancy Scotland's forwards to be fitter over the course of the 80, but if they're utterly dominated by France and are three tries down with 10 minutes left, it won't matter which pack is still on its feet!

You weren't at the Edinburgh Racing game a few years ago then?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/15762165

Still the best game of rugby I've ever seen.

I remember that game, though I wasn't there to see it.

In fact, if I recall it was the night of Children in Need, and I was sitting in the living room listening to the game on headphones while my parents were watching a really moving piece about children with terminal illness. When Visser scored the winner (though conversion to come, I think), I stood up and shouted "YAAAAAASSS!!!" - my mum's face was a mixture of confusion and absolute horror!

IanBru wrote:

des wrote:

IanBru wrote:

whocares wrote:Well reading at some posts here it feels like France will only be allowed to defend during 80 minutes. The truth is that for a very static pack they also have the one of the best offload and linebreak stats of last round. as for what Strokosh is saying remind me when last he played in the top14...
Good luck to yall as if your mobile pack get ouplayed it will be some hangover over here

Ha ha, I think you're right to be suspicious! Obviously France will get the ball (and probably the majority of possession), but I think Scotland won against Ireland by being so much more effective on the occasions when they did have ball in hand, hence the question of what we do in that situation.

I think if I had France's forward resources (i.e. some huge yet skillful lumps), I'd play a really big pack too, and try to generate a strong platform for the backs. The downside to that is the fatigue that inevitably sets in. I fancy Scotland's forwards to be fitter over the course of the 80, but if they're utterly dominated by France and are three tries down with 10 minutes left, it won't matter which pack is still on its feet!

You weren't at the Edinburgh Racing game a few years ago then?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/15762165

Still the best game of rugby I've ever seen.

I remember that game, though I wasn't there to see it.

In fact, if I recall it was the night of Children in Need, and I was sitting in the living room listening to the game on headphones while my parents were watching a really moving piece about children with terminal illness. When Visser scored the winner (though conversion to come, I think), I stood up and shouted "YAAAAAASSS!!!" - my mum's face was a mixture of confusion and absolute horror!

As my old granny used to say, "Certainly not the first time and probably not the last."

I used the adjective "old" as living in Essex I seem to meet a surprisingly high number of grandmothers still in their thirties.

jimbopip wrote:

IanBru wrote:

des wrote:

IanBru wrote:

whocares wrote:Well reading at some posts here it feels like France will only be allowed to defend during 80 minutes. The truth is that for a very static pack they also have the one of the best offload and linebreak stats of last round. as for what Strokosh is saying remind me when last he played in the top14...
Good luck to yall as if your mobile pack get ouplayed it will be some hangover over here

Ha ha, I think you're right to be suspicious! Obviously France will get the ball (and probably the majority of possession), but I think Scotland won against Ireland by being so much more effective on the occasions when they did have ball in hand, hence the question of what we do in that situation.

I think if I had France's forward resources (i.e. some huge yet skillful lumps), I'd play a really big pack too, and try to generate a strong platform for the backs. The downside to that is the fatigue that inevitably sets in. I fancy Scotland's forwards to be fitter over the course of the 80, but if they're utterly dominated by France and are three tries down with 10 minutes left, it won't matter which pack is still on its feet!

You weren't at the Edinburgh Racing game a few years ago then?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/15762165

Still the best game of rugby I've ever seen.

I remember that game, though I wasn't there to see it.

In fact, if I recall it was the night of Children in Need, and I was sitting in the living room listening to the game on headphones while my parents were watching a really moving piece about children with terminal illness. When Visser scored the winner (though conversion to come, I think), I stood up and shouted "YAAAAAASSS!!!" - my mum's face was a mixture of confusion and absolute horror!

As my old granny used to say, "Certainly not the first time and probably not the last."

I used the adjective "old" as living in Essex I seem to meet a surprisingly high number of grandmothers still in their thirties.

They are known as Gilfs apparently!

Noticed CDP is not playing a part for Edinburgh this weekend which may mean he'll be on the bench or starting vs France!!

French team looks very dangerous. Lot better than the side we beat last year at Murrayfield. This fixture is going to be very tough and I would be seriously impressed if Scotland can take some points from this one.

A tweet earlier says that it's the same team from last week which is good. But then 10 mins later, there was another tweet saying that due to injury, a last minute change to the backrow has been made.

If this is true, I'd say that perhaps CDP is on the bench.

Scottish team is being announced now. Drip fed again

bench
Ford
Reid
Berghan
Swinson
hardie
Price
Weir
Bennett

Back row
Barclay
Watson
Strauss

Wilson has an elbow infection apparently

locks:
Gray & Gray

Guess I was way off the mark on CDP

FR

Dell, Brown, Fagerson

Greig and Finn at 9 & 10

Centres
Dunbar & Jones

So team basically the same as last week with the exception of Barclay in for Wilson and Hardie taking his spot on the bench

That's weird.

Lego Batman starts this weekend and there's no sign of Wilson......

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:That's weird.

Lego Batman starts this weekend and there's no sign of Wilson......

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:That's weird.

Lego Batman starts this weekend and there's no sign of Wilson......

Oh YES.

"Donner donner donner donner BATMAN!"

I'm a bit concerned with the backrow. All three are fine players, but we're basically playing two opensides and a No 8 that will tire after 60 mins.

Realistically speaking, we're looking at having three opensides on the park after 60 mins (barring injuries)

I'd have prefered to have seen Bradbury or CDP on the bench, either in place of Hardie or instead of Weir.

Our tight five are going to need to put in a massive shift in defense and in ball carrying!

Well only change is Barclay in for Wilson (who has an elbow infection) and Hardie onto the bench. That hardly weakens the team.

I can see Swinson playing in the backrow again later on in the game when Strauss tires, he may even play at No.8, though Barclay can do that as well.

Hardie will definitely provide some oomph in the tackle and will probably take over from Watson at some stage.

Looks like VCs opinion about CDP is the same as ours, that he is just not on form at the moment!

tigertattie wrote:I'm a bit concerned with the backrow. All three are fine players, but we're basically playing two opensides and a No 8 that will tire after 60 mins.

Realistically speaking, we're looking at having three opensides on the park after 60 mins (barring injuries)

I'd have prefered to have seen Bradbury or CDP on the bench, either in place of Hardie or instead of Weir.

Our tight five are going to need to put in a massive shift in defense and in ball carrying!

I'd agree with that - all of our backrow are great athletes but we're very much lacking grunt. There is no way Strauss will last 80 minutes and we'll be quite underpowered when he goes off.

Hardie is a strange bench choice as Barclay would cover 7 and I agree a big lump like CDP or Bradbury would have been a good option to have on the bench.

BigGee wrote:Well only change is Barclay in for Wilson (who has an elbow infection) and Hardie onto the bench. That hardly weakens the team.

I can see Swinson playing in the backrow again later on in the game when Strauss tires, he may even play at No.8, though Barclay can do that as well.

Hardie will definitely provide some oomph in the tackle and will probably take over from Watson at some stage.

Looks like VCs opinion about CDP is the same as ours, that he is just not on form at the moment!

I think you might be right - both Grays are 80 minute players and there is no need to take them off, especially since Swinson at lock is a reasonable step down in quality from those two.  No matter where Swinson comes on he'll have a remit to give energy in defence and make hard yards, something he's good at, so he may well end up in the backrow.

I see some mileage in having 2 opensides - France at the weekend were quite prone to getting isolated (often one man making the break and support taking a while to arrive) - having the extra openside to steal makes attacking off turnover ball so much more effective, plus having a stealer and a link men to receive the ball will aid fast attacking.

However this does rely on actually making the tackles. Whilst Picamoles breaks on his own he will not be easy to bring down; a big brute at 6 would likely aid in this situation.

In general I think with this lineup we need to close them down quickly, not let their big men get up to speed. Fickou and Lamerat are both very good distributors so again, line speed to close them down before the ball gets to the big runners on the wings.

In attack there is a need to tie them in and go wide - but a risk of undercommitting to the breakdown and being overpowered off the ball. I could see mileage in Laidlaw using his tactical kicking towards the corners; French back 3 are huge and won't turn quickly, but only when there's space and Seymour ready to chase. Last thing we want is kicking to Spedding in space. Can't remember how the French defence work - Russell may well gain some benefit with his little chips. Again, only in the right place - no chip and chase in our own 22!!

Really no idea how this game will go though - the Scotland team will need to play the perfect game, avoiding scrums and attrition. If France get their way then it'll be a very long game

Ryan Wilson must be gutted - I'm not quite sure how you get an elbow infection but he no doubt would have been playing if he didn't have it.

Vern seems to keep people in the team as long as form and fitness allows it so he may find himself on the sidelines for the rest of the tournament if the selected backrowers play well.

Just looking at that french team; Gourdon Goujon, I'm sure that's on the menu at the Bervie Chipper.

RDW_Scotland wrote:Ryan Wilson must be gutted - I'm not quite sure how you get an elbow infection but he no doubt would have been playing if he didn't have it.

Vern seems to keep people in the team as long as form and fitness allows it so he may find himself on the sidelines for the rest of the tournament if the selected backrowers play well.

There is something to be said for that approach, creates genuine competition for places. having said that he brought Brown back in, despite Fordie playing well when he came on. I guess he sees Fraser Brown as the one to take up the Hookers reign as RF is 33 now and won't go on for ever. It has to be said though that at the moment, he is playing better than ever. You wonder what he may have been like if he had had any serious competition earlier in his career. It may have made him a much better player than he is.

BigGee wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Ryan Wilson must be gutted - I'm not quite sure how you get an elbow infection but he no doubt would have been playing if he didn't have it.

Vern seems to keep people in the team as long as form and fitness allows it so he may find himself on the sidelines for the rest of the tournament if the selected backrowers play well.

There is something to be said for that approach, creates genuine competition for places. having said that he brought Brown back in, despite Fordie playing well when he came on. I guess he sees Fraser Brown as the one to take up the Hookers reign as RF is 33 now and won't go on for ever. It has to be said though that at the moment, he is playing better than ever. You wonder what he may have been like if he had had any serious competition earlier in his career. It may have made him a much better player than he is.

Given that VC is off after the 6N I think all he cares about is winning these games - not the future!

I would have started Ford too for extra stability in the scrums for the first 50-60 minutes. It is no bad thing for him to provide this later in the game though, especially if Berghan comes on.

Can any Londoners or former Londoners recommend a pub near Kings X for watching the game?

Edinburgh team sheet says Hardie starting at 7

Assuming that is an error

bsando wrote:Edinburgh team sheet says Hardie starting at 7

Assuming that is an error

I think it was correct at the time of publishing, but with Wilson being hooked and Hardie stepping up, I guess it's no longer correct. In fact, I think Edinburgh issued a corrective tweet just after the Scotland team was announced.

IanBru wrote:

bsando wrote:Edinburgh team sheet says Hardie starting at 7

Assuming that is an error

I think it was correct at the time of publishing, but with Wilson being hooked and Hardie stepping up, I guess it's no longer correct. In fact, I think Edinburgh issued a corrective tweet just after the Scotland team was announced.

Ah thanks Bru!

bsando wrote:Edinburgh team sheet says Hardie starting at 7

Assuming that is an error

Come on guys, the Luvvies have been putting out teamsheets full of guys who never turn up for some time now.

need to be a bit of a nutter to play for Edinburgh then fly over to Paris and play for Scotland!

Ritchie V could have done that though!

tigertattie wrote:need to be a bit of a nutter to play for Edinburgh then fly over to Paris and play for Scotland!

Ritchie V could have done that though!

I'm pretty sure Josh Strauss did that last year, playing a full match against the Dragons, then flying out to Rome the next day to play the final 20 against Italy. Of course, Mr Strauss is a little bit special.

Maro Itoje once played a game for his club, then the same day, played for england and then he still went home and cooked his own dinner!

Having watched England and Wales tonight, I don't believe that either of those sides are streets ahead of us.

Just in case you're not all hyped enough for tomorrow!
https://twitter.com/GLove39/status/830499713346572289

Glove, I'm a huge admirer of your work . However, I can't help but feel that if the dominoes were book ended by the Eiffel Tower and a small Subbuteo type Scotland figurine and the aforementioned teeny plastic player, or the real Frodo, knocks over the first domino then it has much greater dramatic power.

Just saying mind.

jimbopip wrote:Glove, I'm a huge admirer of your work . However, I can't help but feel that if the dominoes were book ended by the Eiffel Tower and a small Subbuteo type Scotland figurine and the aforementioned teeny plastic player, or the real Frodo, knocks over the first domino then it has much greater dramatic power.

Just saying mind.

Might have to hire you as a writer!