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HScotland, which had not managed to win in Paris in this century, will try to put an end to this trend Saturday with an aspect that would look like a second rank. Of the main quartets on the team, only captain Greig Laidlaw is on the team, with Finn Russell joining Stuart Hogg and Willem Nel on the injury list this week.
If you take into account other absentees such as Huw Jones, Ryan Wilson and Hamish Watson, you may feel that this match is a victory for France. But that also seemed to be the case at the half-time of their last home game, before giving up a 16-0 lead in Wales. After such a despicable collapse, followed by a heavy defeat at Twickenham, it is obvious that self-confidence is rare in the French ranks. Jacques Brunel hinted when he was asked if, by naming his team two days earlier, he was scoting an advantage. "After seeing our performance against England, Scotland must be pretty confident anyway," said the head coach.
"Quite confident" would overestimate the mood in the visitors' camp before this third outing of the Six Nations season, but some think that, if they manage to avoid the handle of blatant mistakes that have them was very expensive in Ireland and at the end of the years. A defeat that spoiled an easy win over Italy, they launched a decent scream to win a first win in the French capital since 1999. Scottish players prepare for a quick attack from France and think they can resist will be able to put in a more composed performance.
If that were to happen, the orchestrator would be unstoppable, Peter Horne, who replaced Russell so well in the Murrayfield match in 2016, and was chosen in preference to Adam Hastings. Like his counterpart Romain Ntamack, Horne can go from 10 to 12 players. Gregor Townsend, a former Glasgow Warriors coach, has long admired his meticulous approach to the game.
"He showed everyone he could play well at 10 years at the international level," said the Scottish coach. "He is probably our most organized and well-prepared player on the team. He will know everything about the French – what they did, their individual players. He will be able to talk about our game plan in every detail. "
Horne's best recent form may have given him the lead over Hastings, but his greater reliability and experience sealed the debate with Townsend's choice of Sam Johnson and Nick Grigg, relatively untested at the center. To date, Johnson has found his place at this level in his two selections, while the diminutive Grigg, who has six, is ready for a convincing comparative weight competition with Mathieu Bastareaud, his counterpart.
Like Grigg, Darcy Graham is a small man who strikes hard and, even though he is nominally a winger or a right back, he has proven himself effective at the club level. becoming the first midfielder and being the first receiver, especially late in the game against fatigue. defenses. It would not be a big surprise if Graham left the bench in the last quarter and scores quickly, although the question of whether the fight remains undecided at this time is another matter.
Townsend is aware of the dangerousness of France and believes that the new pair back-half Antoine Dupont and Ntamack can pose a threat as much as the duo more experienced they replaced, Morgan Parra and Camille Lopez. "You move from cohesion with half-backs that have real experience in Parra and Lopez, then you move to cohesion with half-back Toulouse. So these are very logical choices based on form, "he said.
"When Dupont faced England, he showed his spirit and abilities when the team lost. He tried to lead the game at the opposition and that's what you want in your players: he is such an exciting talent.
"Ntamack plays with a team, Toulouse, who plays a really exciting rugby. They are as dangerous as playing against experienced half-defenders. It's a dangerous French team with some young players coming in very quickly and with experience. I think that their pack is more mobile than the one they chose against Wales, but I do not think they will change their way of playing, which is ambitious rugby and very big volume. We expect a really dangerous attack team. "
Brunel probably does not know what to expect, but he knows what he hopes to see. "We need to change things and show the true face of the France team," he said.
In reality, no face of the French team, inept or inspired, is more "real" than the other. But what predominates will surely determine the outcome of the most unpredictable match of this year's championship.
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