2021 Six Nations Championship – France vs Scotland Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is France vs Scotland taking place? Friday 26th March, 2021 – 20:00
Where is France vs Scotland taking place? Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Where can I get tickets for France vs Scotland? Visit this link for ticket information
What channel is France vs Scotland on? BBC
Where can I stream France vs Scotland? France vs Scotland can be streamed via BBC iPlayer
THE TEAM NEWS
FRANCE
- France played out a true modern classic with Wales last Saturday in the Six Nations, coming back from a red card down against the Grand Slam hopefuls to win 32-30 right in the dying minutes.
- Head coach Fabien Galthie has little time to relish in that glory with Friday fast approaching and his biggest change this week sees last season’s top points scorer Romain Ntamack come in for a first start this campaign in place of injured Matthieu Jalibert.
- Galthie has also rung the changes elsewhere with Bernard Le Roux, Swan Rebbadj, Arthur Vincent and Anthony Jelonch coming in with the pressure of a nation falling back in love with their team on their backs.
France: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Arthur Vincent, 11 Gael Fickou, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Gregory Aldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon (c), 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Swan Rebbadj, 4 Bernard le Roux, 3 Mohamed Haouas, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Uini Atonio, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Dylan Cretin, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Anthony Bouthier, 23 Teddy Thomas
SCOTLAND
- A monumental challenge faces Scotland after such an enjoyable 52-10 romp at home to Italy last Saturday afternoon, in which they scored eight tries in a very positive display, and they will be pleased to finish above England this season no matter what happens here.
- Scotland will look to their opening day success at Twickenham for inspiration as they face an all-out assault this Friday but they also know that they were the only side to beat Les Bleus in last year’s edition.
- Head coach Gregor Townsend makes four changes for this last match of the 2021 Six Nations Championship as Finn Russell returns alongside Ali Price, Chris Harris and George Turner.
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg (c), 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Nick Haining, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Sam Skinner, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 David Cherry, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Alex Craig, 20 Ryan WIlson, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Huw Jones
THE PREDICTION
France must rely on scoring big for a chance at winning the Six Nations Championship for a second season running after they fell at the last hurdle in 2020. Les Bleus had to beat England’s points difference that day when they played Ireland in Paris and one year on the circumstances here are even tougher. To win the Six Nations title France must beat Scotland, which seems a fair likelihood, but also achieve a bonus point and a winning margin of 21 or more points. That desperate task should see an all-out assault on visiting Scotland this Friday evening but the away side have arguably played better on the road this season, with that opening day win over England still fresh in the memory. In the markets, France to win a match that goes over 40 points looks a useful combination for what should be an enthralling watch. Luckily, we do not have to decide here whether or not Fabien Galthie’s side can win the tournament, though falling just short of the mark looks to be the likeliest outcome.
