New-look Scotland do not fear the French

Scotland have not beaten France in France since 1999, but will be in the rare position of favourites when they meet at Stade de France early tomorrow (NZT) in the Six Nations.

Rather than scraping by on penalties and the odd try, Scotland this season are much more ambitious and often daring, thanks to the panache of fullback Stuart Hogg and the cunning of halfback Greig Laidlaw, allied to their relentless forwards. Vern Cotter’s last season in charge is brimming with promise.

Last weekend, Hogg scored two early tries as Ireland were beaten 27-22 at Murrayfield, while France lost to England 19-16.

Along with Hogg’s lightning-fast breaks, Scotland innovated against the Irish by putting centre Alex Dunbar and two other backs in a lineout leading to Dunbar’s try. It was an audacious move.

But the French have been warned: Scotland’s scrum is wobbly, and British Lions lock candidates Jonny and Richie Gray are likely to be kept busier by a French side looking to offload more than the Irish.

“It was a great result [against Ireland] and we’ll take the benefits from it. But we weren’t perfect,” Scotland prop Zander Fagerson said. “We made a hell of a lot of errors so if we want to be the best team, we need to scrub them out.”

France have made considerable progress since last year’s campaign, when they finished second-to-last. They are playing better rugby under coach Guy Noves, the architect of Toulouse’s success.