Six Nations 2017: France vs Scotland Preview

France vs Scotland at Stade de France (Sunday, February 12, 11pm HKT)

The final game of the second round of the 2017 Six Nations has all the signs of being a thriller

What we can expect
High-octane, thrill-a-minute, attacking rugby from two sides that just want to play fast and loose.

France
Les Bleus should have beaten England at Twickenham last weekend, but bottled the final quarter to gift a scarcely-deserved win to the hosts. The fans have been behind the Novès revolution so far, but they will be baying for a big, beautiful – legendarily French – win at home.

Matchday 23: Scott Spedding, Noa Nakaitaci, Rémi Lamerat, Gaël Fickou, Virimi Vakatawa, Camille Lopez , Baptiste Serin; Louis Picamoles, Kévin Gourdon, Loann Goujon, Yoann Maestri, Sébastien Vahaamahina, Uini Atonio, Guilhem Guirado, Cyril Baille Replacements: Christopher Tolofua, Rabah Slimani, Xavier Chiocci, Julien Ledevedec, Damien Chouly, Maxime Machenaud, Jean-Marc Doussain, Yoann Huget.

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Scotland
Confidence is high in the Scotland camp after that tremendous Six Nations’ curtain-raiser performance in victory over Ireland. But they have not won in Paris in their last nine visits, and will need all their newly-discovered mental toughness to end that run. It will be a special day for 24-year-old Stuart Hogg, too, as he becomes the youngest Scot to win 50 caps for his country.

Matchday 23: Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland, Huw Jones, Alex Dunbar, Tommy Seymour, Finn Russell, Greig Laidlaw; Allan Dell, Fraser Brown, Zander Fagerson, Richie Gray, Jonny Gray, John Barclay, Josh Strauss, Hamish Watson. Replacements: Ross Ford, Gordon Reid, Simon Berghan, Tim Swinson, John Hardie, Alistair Price, Duncan Weir, Mark Bennett.

All eyes on: Louis Picamoles
The Northampton number eight was immense with the ball in hand in London last week, winning the man-of-the-match award despite being on the losing side.

Key battle: The scrum
It seems trite to say how important the scrum will be, but Scotland’s went backwards rapidly at the start of the opening match against Ireland, before recovering to achieve something approaching parity in a backs-to-the-wall second half. It speaks volumes that the players and coaching team kept clear heads when all about them, fans and pundits were losing theirs. But the French scrum is big and powerful and uncompromising – and will take no prisoners. Scottish composure levels will have to be ramped up to 11.

Prediction
There should be plenty for neutrals to enjoy, while fans of both sides will probably cheer and scream and watch through their fingers in equal measure. In the end, though, home advantage has to count for something. France by 8.