France head to Murrayfield to take on Scotland having established themselves as Six Nations favourites with victory over Ireland.
Fabien Galthie’s side are the lone remaining team with hopes of a Grand Slam, and must get past a Scottish team that has beaten them in each of the last two years.
Injuries struck Scotland during the fallow week, leaving Gregor Townsend’s squad looking a little short of forward depth.
A settled backline led by Paris-based Finn Russell will hope to trouble a French unit that appears to be set to be forced into a reshuffle.
Here’s everything you need to know:
When is Scotland vs France?
Scotland vs France is due to kick-off at 2.15pm GMT on Saturday 26 February at Murrayfield in Edinburgh.
How can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on BBC One in the United Kingdom, with coverage beginning at 1.15pm. The match will be available to watch on the BBC iPlayer via the app and website.
Team News
The loss of Jonny Gray, Rory Sutherland and Scott Cummings leaves Gregor Townsend’s tight five options weakened, while Cameron Redpath might have been in line for a start at inside centre with neither Sam Johnson nor Sione Tuipulotu doing quite enough to secure the starting shirt in rounds one and two. With Redpath absent, Johnson may come back in for extra defensive security alongside Chris Harris.
Zander Fagerson will likely return to the starting side ahead of WP Nel, while a bold call against a side of France’s physicality would be to deploy two spoiling, explosive open-sides in Hamish Watson and Rory Darge, though it may leave Scotland short of lineout options and size.
France wing Gabin Villiere will miss this game after fracturing a sinus, which may force a backline reshuffle with few trusted specialist options in the squad. Gael Fickou has played out wide before but is taking on more and more importance as a defensive leader for France in midfield, and with Jonathan Danty fit again it may be that Yoram Moefana, impressive against Ireland in the centres, is asked to shift outwards - something the youngster has done on occasion for Bordeaux. His club teammate Matthieu Jalibert is still struggling with a thigh issue.
Mohamed Haouas, whose red card for throwing a punch shifted this encounter two years ago, is back available to Fabien Galthie after being given a 15-month suspended sentence for his involvement in a series of break-ins in 2014. Haouas has been a favourite of Galthie’s but Uini Atonio has had an outstanding tournament and Demba Bamaba is a tighthead of real potential.
Both teams will be named on Thursday.
Predicted line-ups
Scotland XV (1-15): Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson; Sam Skinner, Grant Gilchrist; Magnus Bradbury, Hamish Watson, Matt Fagerson; Ali Price, Finn Russell; Duhan van der Merwe, Sam Johnson, Chris Harris, Darcy Graham; Stuart Hogg.
Substitutes: Stuart McInally, Oli Kebble, WP Nel, Jamie Hodgson, Rory Darge; Ben White, Blair Kinghorn, Sione Tuipulotu.
France XV (1-15): Cyrill Baille, Julien Marchand, Uini Atonio; Cameron Woki, Paul Willemse; Francois Cros, Anthony Jelonch, Gregory Alldritt; Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack; Yoram Moefana, Jonathan Danty, Gael Fickou, Damian Penaud; Melvyn Jaminet.
Substitutes: Peato Mauvaka, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Demba Bamba, Romain Taofifenua, Dylan Cretin; Maxime Lucu, Thomas Ramos, Virimi Vakatawa.
Prediction
Scotland may have a good recent record against France but the injuries are beginning to erode the depth that Gregor Townsend had managed to build. Don’t rule out a real statement performance from Finn Russell against regular Top 14 combatants, but it will be tough for Scotland to match the French physically, even if Steve Tandy’s excellent defence should keep them in it. Scotland 20-29 France
