Third match of the Six Nations Tournament and the Blues will face a big piece. Saturday (3:15 p.m.), the XV of France faces Scotland in their lair of Murrayfield and they measure what that represents. The XV du Chardon is the only selection to resist the French of Fabien Galthié in the Tournament. Since the arrival of the coach at the end of the 2019 World Cup, France have only beaten Scotland once. It was November 22, 2020 during the Autumn Cup of Nations.
White cabbage
But in the Six Nations, the Blues draw a blank. Last year, Scotland won (27-23) at the Stade de France, the year before, the Scots had already outclassed the Habs (28-17) at Murrayfield. “Scotland are the team against which we have the least results“, summarizes William Servat, the coach of the Blues in charge of the forwards. But “the players are hungry, the team wants to face Scotland who have held us in check since the beginning of our mandate in the Tournament“.
“OHasn’t had any success so far“against the XV du Chardon who, at home, “will once again be in a position of strength“, insists the former hooker of Stade Toulouse. The players, like the management, insist on the fact that their opponent is gaining momentum: “Trivializing this team would be a big mistake.“, maintains Servat, recalling the “very good results” made by the Scots during the November tour. This fall, the Scots first beat Tonga (60-14), Australia (15-13), before standing up to South Africa (victorious 30-15) then recover against Japan (29-20)
Avoid the Scottish shower
On Saturday, the XV of France will present themselves at Murrayfield with a team that beat England at the start of the Tournament (20-17), before being surprised in Wales (20-17). And who will therefore be keen to redeem themselves in front of their fervent supporters, of whom the Blues had had a somewhat destabilizing taste in 2020. “Two years ago, in Murrayfield, the popular enthusiasm was rather important, even impressive, but today, we are more ready for these things.“, believes Servat.
For two years, “we have made a lot of progress in our game plan, we have more than twenty matches together, the group has a lot more experience“, abounds the second row Paul Willemse. In short, with three-quarters among the fastest in the Tournament and a “dominating pack“, emphasizes Servat, Scotland is “a serious team“, made of “fearsome fighters“framed by”quality staff“.
The Grand Slam in sight
Several branded packages within the Scottish pack, including those of second-row Jonny Gray and prop Rory Sutherland, could nonetheless facilitate French companies. “They have shown a lot of character in the past, especially to come and win with us last seasonwarns Servat for his part. It’s up to us to find the tools, the arguments to try to fight against them“Especially since a success on Saturday at Murrayfield, if it will already have the merit of erasing this spiral of defeats against Stuart Hogg’s teammates, will further open the way to the Grand Slam for France, the only team still undefeated in this edition of the Tournament, a title that the Blues have been waiting for since 2010 and which therefore requires an imperative victory at Murrayfield.
The calendar and the classification of the XV of France in the Six Nations Tournament 2022