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Guinness Six Nations 2025: France v Scotland
Venue: Stade de France, Paris Date: Saturday, 15 March Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Coverage: Listen unrecorded connected BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Scotland Extra & BBC Sounds, unrecorded substance sum and highlights connected BBC Sport app & website
When reasoning astir Scotland's prospects of turning the awe-inspiring, championship-chasing Les Bleus to a sickly shadiness of greenish connected Saturday nighttime successful Paris, a country from Dumb and Dumber comes to mind.
Lloyd quizzing Mary astir the precise quality of his unrequited love. "What are my chances?" helium asks. "Not good," says Mary. "Not good, similar 1 retired of a hundred?" helium wonders. "I'd say, much similar 1 retired of a million," Mary replies.
Cue Lloyd, euphoric: "So… you're telling maine there's a chance?" Well, yes, but…
It's not conscionable the main protagonists who person tegument successful this Six Nations finale, of course.
England volition beryllium each implicit it presuming they enactment Wales distant earlier successful the day. If they falter past Irish eyes volition beryllium similar saucers, but lone if they've done a occupation connected Italy first.
Scotland caput manager Gregor Townsend says that the rugby satellite volition beryllium glued to their screens connected Saturday nighttime - and he's astir apt right. France are truthful watchable, truthful compelling, truthful susceptible astatine Twickenham and truthful imperious successful Dublin. They're a play unto themselves.
Everybody loves a flawed genius and present it is successful squad form. How could specified a postulation of stellar players lone person a title to triumph connected Saturday nighttime alternatively of a Grand Slam? The nonaccomplishment to the English is incomprehensible and yet that flakiness adds to France's appeal. They're an eminently loveable lot.
It's not conscionable the originative majesty of their squad that captivates, it's the unspeakable quality of their 7-1 bench, an thought borrowed from the Boks but, somehow, much awesome erstwhile France bash it.
Why bash we emotion them? For their corporate people - they request 4 tries to acceptable a caller Six Nations try-scoring record. For their idiosyncratic excellence - Damian Penaud has 12 (or twelve, arsenic the aged vidiprinter would contiguous it) tries successful his past 5 games for nine and country, with the young maestro Louis Bielle-Biarrey scoring a ridiculous 23 successful his past 20.
The Bordeaux flyer has scored 17 tries successful 18 Tests. Frankly, it's ludicrous.
What else? For the moments that lone large players tin present - Bielle-Biarrey, again, going for a record-busting eighth effort successful a azygous Six Nations. For the absent genius - Antoine Dupont. And for the unsung dogs of warfare - Thibaud Flament successful the second-row, Paul Boudehent successful the back-row, conscionable 2 of their galore heavies who tin bang and who tin play.
France person won their past 3 Six Nations Tests against Scotland and person won 20 of the past 25 betwixt the sides. They're roaring blistery favourites, but what astir the Scots? One retired of a hundred? One retired of a million? A chance?
They tin beryllium superb and they tin beryllium brutal, they tin beryllium lethal and they tin beryllium wasteful. In a sense, they're France-lite.
They marque Jekyll and Hyde look uncomplicated; astatine times axenic thoroughbreds, the Frankel of rugby and, astatine different times, self-destructive, the Devon Loch of the age.
Shaun Edwards is acold excessively wily to perceive to the chat astir France being racing certainties. He didn't go 1 of the astir influential coaches of modern times by being a mug.
Edwards volition attack Scotland successful the mode of a weaponry disposal adept making harmless an unexploded device. He knows that information lies wrong this squad and it has to beryllium neutralised. He knows that Scotland, connected their precise champion day, are huffy capable to marque an almighty crippled of this.
It was a conflict past twelvemonth astatine Murrayfield and Scotland thought they'd won with a precocious Sam Skinner try, lone for the officials to moonwalk backmost from a close telephone that would person fixed them victory.
It was a conflict the twelvemonth earlier successful Paris, erstwhile Scotland fell 19-0 down aft 18 minutes but past rallied magnificently to marque it 25-21 aft 67 minutes. That 50-minute spell - 21-6 to the visitors - was among the astir scintillating of the full Townsend era.
A precocious misfire retired of interaction outgo them - Gael Fickou sealed it soon aft - but that was a scary acquisition for France. You triumph your opponent's respect erstwhile you instrumentality them to the ligament the mode Scotland did that day.
And connected different days. During the Covid outpouring of 2021, Scotland won successful Paris. They weren't expected to. They hadn't won successful France successful 12 attempts, going backmost to erstwhile Townsend was successful his pomp arsenic a player, but they did that night.
Duhan van der Merwe scored the winner, 1 of 32 tries helium has scored successful 48 Tests. Darcy Graham is connected the other helping connected Saturday. Graham has 30 tries successful 45 Tests. The brace of them are the finest helping operation successful astir apt the finest Scotland backline there's ever been.
The lawsuit for Scotland delivering a scare tin beryllium stretched retired a little. With Finn Russell, Huw Jones and Tom Jordan each wondrous attackers, they tin people from anywhere, that overmuch has been long-established.
Under Townsend, Scotland person had a ton of possession and territory successful astir of their games against France. In six retired of the 7 title games, Townsend's squad person had much attacking minutes than France. On occasion, a batch more.
They person 3 wins and 4 losses against France successful the Six Nations. Throw successful World Cup warm-ups and it's 5 wins and 7 losses.
Three of France's victories person been by a score. Only seldom person the French taken the Scots to the cleaners portion Townsend has been successful charge.
Statistics suggest a adjacent capable contest, but the grounds of our eyes beauteous overmuch takes america successful the other direction. If Scotland play arsenic they person been playing, they volition people immoderate wonderment tries but won't person the horses to unrecorded with France erstwhile the powerfulness comes on.
And, erstwhile that powerfulness comes connected and pulls Scotland this mode and that, participate the French assassins down the scrum - each clever angles and deception, outrageous imaginativeness and ruthless execution.
In the caller past, Scotland person shown an awesome capableness to enactment successful the combat and marque beingness hard for France.
This is simply a antithetic squad and a antithetic time, though. Under the disco lights astatine the Stade de France, Paris is acceptable to party.
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