Preview: Scotland v France, Autumn Nations Cup
17 Nov 2020Scotland will meet a familiar foe this weekend in the shape of France, with the sides having met four times since February of last year, with two wins apiece in that time.
The Scots have hosted this fixture
46 times previously winning 27 times and scoring 667 points in the process.
Last Meeting
8 March 2020, BT Murrayfield
SCOTLAND 28 – 17 FRANCE
Scotland derailed a French
Grand Slam train with a three-try victory at BT Murrayfield in what was the
last international weekend before Covid-19 shut down the global sporting
calendar. A double from Sean Maitland and a try from Stuart McInally, aided by
13 points from the tee courtesy of Adam Hastings, earned a third win over the
same opponents in four attempts – indeed, Scotland have not lost at home
against the French since 2014.
French Focus
A French rugby revolution, headed up by Head Coach Fabien Galthié, saw the former scrum-half select a number of young players for his 2020 Guinness Six Nations squad, many of whom had enjoyed success at U20 level, where France won world titles in both 2018 and 2019.
Chief talents among this young squad include half-back pairing Antoine Dupont and Emile Ntamack, who bring a typically Gallic flair to a back division brimming with intent. In the pack, skipper Charles Ollivon leads a back-row complemented by the youthful belligerence of players like Gregory Aldritt, Cameron Woki and Dylan Cretin. Props Demba Bamba and Jean-Baptiste Gros head up front-row options that have the potential for a decade on the international stage.
Supporting this Sunday
Scotland’s fixture kicks-off at 3.15pm GMT and is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.
You can also join us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for match-build up and follow in game updates at scottishrugby.org. Stay connected with us during the game using #AsOne and we’ll look out for your messages to include in the Scottish Rugby Match Centre.
Team Announcement
The Scotland team to play
France will be named at lunchtime on Friday (20 November) across the Scottish
Rugby channels.
STAT ATTACK IN SCOTLAND
We look into some key stats from the Scotland v France fixture.
18 France Wins 27 Scotland Wins 1 Draw
Scotland player stats in the fixture:
Most Appearances
12 Ross Ford 12 Chris Paterson 12 Jim Renwick
Most Drop Goals
2 Dougie Morgan 2 Ken Scotland
Most Conversions
9 Greig Laidlaw 9 Fred Turner
Most Points
116 Gavin Hastings 75 Greig Laidlaw 75 Andy Irvine
Most Tries
6 Ian Smith 6 Arthur Wallace
Most Penalties
33 Gavin Hastings 19 Greig Laidlaw
France player stats in the fixture:
Most Appearances
14 Phillipe Sella 12 Serge Blanco 11 Fabien Pelous
Most Drop Goals
2 Didier Camberabero 2Jean-Patrick Lescarboura
Most Conversions
4 Lionel Beauxis 4 Morgan Parra
Most Points
50 Frederic Michalak 42 Serge Blanco
Most Tries
5 Serge Blanco 2 Maxime Medard
Most Penalties
11 Camille Lopez 10 Thierry Lacroix
