Grant’s quietly upbeat
GRANT GILCHRIST says Scotland are out to silence the Stade de France on Saturday.
Gregor Townsend’s side are looking to get their Six Nations campaign back on track after losing to Ireland a fortnight ago.
Scotland’s last victory in the French capital came in 1999 and their only three away wins since 2013 have all come in Italy.
But despite the absence of the injured Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg, Edinburgh lock Gilchrist thinks France are vulnerable.
They surrendered a 16-point half-time lead to lose their opener to Wales before a 44-8 thumping by England last time out.
Gilchrist said: “Something we’ve been looking towards in the last couple of years is improving our away form.
Massive
“It hasn’t quite happened but this is a great opportunity.
“It is a really hard place to go and win but we believe if we get our stuff right we can win.
“Away from home you generally have to put in a massive defensive performance and that’s what we’ll be looking to do.
“If we can do that and keep the sting out of France, and if we can stop that fast offloading game that they like to play, then we will be a long way towards winning the game.
“The noise will be electric.
“We can still feed off that noise and that energy even if it’s not behind you.
“Playing in those kind of atmospheres is what you want to do as a professional rugby player.
“It doesn’t get much better than playing in venues like that.
“Sometimes, playing in away grounds, you start to hear the crowd getting a little bit quieter, you can feed off that as well.”