France take swipe at Murrayfield facilities ahead of Six Nations clash with Scotland - 'smallest in the world'

Fabien Galthie claims his players will be forced to change in the corridor

France head coach Fabien Galthie has taken a swipe at the Murrayfield facilities ahead of the mammoth Six Nations clash with Scotland this weekend.

The match in Edinburgh on Saturday could decide the championship with France requiring a bonus point win to seal the title with a round to spare while a home win will keep alive Scotland's hopes of lifting the trophy for the first time since 1999.

Galthie named his France squad for the fixture on Thursday, selected the same starting XV as in the opening match against Ireland. Thomas Ramos returns to full-back with Matthieu Jalibert, a last minute withdrawal against Italy, returning at fly-half alongside the ever-present Antoine Dupont at scrum-half.

Fabien Galthie, head coach of France, has criticised the facilities at Murrayfield ahead of the Six Nations match against Scotland this weekend. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)placeholder image
Fabien Galthie, head coach of France, has criticised the facilities at Murrayfield ahead of the Six Nations match against Scotland this weekend. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images) | Getty Images

France are top of the table with the maximum 15 points from their opening three matches while Scotland are second on 11 points after a defeat by Italy in round one was followed by victories over England and Wales.

Galthie is expecting a stern test against "a country that thinks it can win the tournament".

"Scotland is an opponent we know well, one we play every year (in the Six Nations) and in World Cup warm-up matches for some time now," he explained. "We know that defeat is possible. It's already happened to us there, in 2020 for example (a 28-17 loss on March 8). The players know what to expect on Saturday."

Galthie also aimed a broadside at the "very difficult" conditions his team will face in dealing with the size of the away dressing room at Murrayfield, claiming that his players will be forced to change in the corridors and accusing Scottish Rugby bosses of refusing French requests to be given extra space.

"The changing room is, in my opinion, the smallest in the world," he said. "It forces us to change in the corridors, for an international match. We have to call a spade a spade.

"We regularly ask them (the Scots) to give us the next room over, which is available and is the other part of the dressing room... well, we don't have it. The referees' dressing room is bigger than ours. It sets the tone, we know what we're getting into as soon as we arrive at the stadium."

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