Scotland draw on history for Six Nations France clash - and the controversial moment that went against them

Two of the victories came in the Six Nations and two in World Cup warm-up matches and it’s a record that should persuade the squad they can produce an upset when the sides meet again in Edinburgh this weekend, according to John Dalziel.

Scotland’s forwards coach accepts the visitors will pose a formidable challenge as they look to clinch the championship with a game to spare but is convinced the home squad can live with France.

The last game between the teams at Murrayfield was mired in controversy as Scotland were denied by a last-gasp try review. Sam Skinner appeared to have grounded the ball but the decision went against the Scots and France held on to win 20-16.

Last year was more clearcut, with the French winning 35-16 in Paris to clinch the title. Scotland have not won at the Stade de France since 2021 but their home record against Saturday’s opponents is good and Dalziel includes the 2024 game in that.

‘We can challenge them’

“We chatted about that [2024] this morning, we've had that moment, we played them in a couple of warm-up games, we were able to beat them at Murrayfield and we had that big win over there [in 2021] that we hadn't had for many a year,” said the assistant coach. “So we've got good history there, but we've been on the wrong side of it as well with narrow defeats.

“Test match rugby can be around a decision, which we had two years ago here, and we've just got to get the performance and make sure that we are ready to go and be competitive. It’s evidence that we can be there, we can be with France, as formidable as they are, at the tail end of a Test match. We got on the wrong side of that decision. It was a tough decision, it could have been given differently but it is what it is, the belief is in how competitive we've been with them and we believe that when we've got our game right, we can challenge them.”

France have won three from three in this season’s Six Nations and their victories against Ireland, Wales and Italy all came with a bonus point. It means they top the standings with the maximum 15 points and another bonus-point victory this weekend would see them clinch the championship with a game to spare.

Dalziel has been hugely impressed by Fabien Galthie’s side, noting they have never fallen behind in any of their games.

“In terms of the Six Nations, in terms of their form the last couple of years, there's not a bigger challenge,” said Dalziel. “They are a bit of a juggernaut at the moment and they're coming with everything to gain at the weekend as well.

“We’re just internalising everything, basically making sure that we're really happy with where we are and we've got to have the game of our tournament so far to make sure we get the win.”

“They just have such a vast amount of players and what they are able to do is pick the lads on form,” added Dalziel. “It’s a really strong squad, they've got great strength in depth as have we. We know what we need from our game to arrive well at the weekend and give them a match, so now we're really looking forward to the challenge.”

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