Fabien Galthie’s French swatted aside Italy last Sunday in Rome with a record 73-24 victory that featured 11 tries.
Replaying the previous years’ final as your first competitive game of the season in scorching heat of around 40 degrees wind chill, is not the ideal start of your tournament.
As omens go, starting a professional tournament in February 2020 might have proven a disaster as after only three games the world shut-down, teams had to be dismembered, and the future looked ominous.
France wing Damian Penaud has been included in their 42-man squad that will prepare to take on England in round two of the Guinness Six Nations after missing the 43-0 win over Wales on Friday.
Portugal player ratings: Portugal’s second visit to Murrayfield ended in a 59-21 loss, with the Lobos conceding more than a wave of tries in the second half.
Simon Mannix’s Portugal will head to the Autumn Nations Series with a couple of new additions, as CA Brive’s and Pro D2’s top try scorer, Lucas da Silva is expected to make his debut for the Lobos.
Portugal player ratings: Portugal’s first-ever outing against the Springboks didn’t end in victory, but the Portuguese showed their fangs and produced more than a couple of spectacular moments.
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has been ruled out of England’s Guinness Six Nations clash with France on Saturday after self-reporting symptoms of concussion.