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The awkward Murrayfield scenario that Scotland have 'not really talked about it'
By PA
Gregor Townsend is solely focused on maintaining Scotland’s Guinness Six Nations hopes into the final weekend as he insisted he has given little consideration to the prospect of France securing the title at Murrayfield.
The Scots were the visitors to Paris last March when Les Bleus won the competition for the first time since 2022.
And Fabien Galthie’s side could wrap up a second consecutive title with victory over second-placed Scotland on Saturday – a bonus-point win would seal the deal for the French regardless of other results.
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“Not really talked about it,” head coach Townsend said of the possibility of the French partying on Scottish soil. “I think it’s obviously about what we can do, staying in the championship for another week.
“We know we’ve got that final game and things to play for in Dublin, but it’s about us winning. That’s what we’re here for.
“Whatever that means in the championship, we’ll see after the game but it’s about us delivering a winning performance.”
If Scotland claim a bonus-point victory, while denying France a losing bonus point, they would be top of the table heading into their final match in Dublin.
Asked if he felt it was possible to win the last two matches, Townsend said: “Yes. I believe in the group. Any game we go in to, we believe we can beat our opposition.
“We know we have to be up there at nine out of 10 level to beat these top teams and that’s what we’re working towards.
“France have shown over the last two or three games they’re the best attacking team in the world over the two or three games but it’s the next game that counts.”
Scotland have won five of their 13 matches against France since Townsend took charge in 2017 and there have also been a couple of agonising defeats – including the last Murrayfield meeting two years ago when a contentious decision by the officials denied Sam Skinner what would have been a last-gasp match-winning try.
“I think it is important for our players to remember how we set up to play against France, how the games have gone, whether that is just looking at the last two or three years from 2023 onwards,” said Townsend.
“We’ve played them five times because we got them twice in the World Cup warm-ups. They’ve been games where we maybe had even more opportunities to win.
“They’re a top team, but it’s a team we’ve risen our game when we’ve played against them. We felt very frustrated not to win two years ago.
“Obviously, we felt really disappointed not to be awarded a try. That was clearly a try in our view at the end of the game that would have got a victory.
“And we felt frustrated in Saint-Etienne (in August 2023) because that was a cracking game. We outscored them four tries to three. It was 27-all in the last minute of the game. They’ve been great fixtures.
“Hopefully that means this will be a really open game. But if it’s a 3-0 win, we’ll take that as well.”
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