Scots can turn up the heat on French side in meltdown
IF Scotland play to their potential and cut out the basic mistakes that cost us against Ireland, they will be confident of beating France next weekend. Fitter, faster, and with a greater sense of purpose, Scotland have the edge over their opponents in near enough every area of the pitch.
They are fundamentally a better team than France at the moment. There is no point trying to shy away from that.
It would be great to see them really embrace it and play with a verve that puts this French team to the sword.
After their collapse in the opening game against Wales and the way England demolished them at Twickenham, this is a France team who are at rock bottom.
The pressure on their players must be so intense, something Scotland should use to their advantage as they aim to win in Paris for the first time in 20 years. There are murmurings of mutiny within the French squad, who, not for the first time, seem to have taken a disliking to their head coach. They have history of this and it can probably be traced back to the days of Marc Lievremont.
It’s important to remember that this was a guy who led them to a Grand Slam in 2010 and to the World Cup final just a year later. In that showpiece match at Eden Park, they lost by just a single point against hosts New Zealand.
Running the All Blacks so close on home soil was no mean feat. Yet, still, you could sense definite rumblings of discontent in the French camp.
My old coach from Sale Sharks, Philippe SaintAndre, then had a spell in charge for a few years, only for things to go the same way.
Guy Noves was the next man they turned to, but he lasted barely two years in the job before current incumbent Jacques Brunel took the reins.
They’ve got themselves into a terrible mess. Although it’s quite startling to see, it has been years in the making.
I still keep in touch with some of my former colleagues from my time at Clermont and I use social media to keep up to speed with what’s happening in the French game.
The media have really hammered them over the past couple of weeks, with newspaper Midi Olympique running the headline ‘Waterloo’ after the defeat to England. Things weren’t any better in the game against Wales, when Sebastien Vahaamahina didn’t even know he was captain during a conversation with referee Wayne Barnes after Guilhem Guirado, the starting captain, had been replaced. In all my career, I can’t ever recall seeing something like that. It just shows real disconnect in everything they’re doing. It’s strange because, when you look through their squad, they do actually have some good players who have been there and done it at club level. One guy I do have question marks over, though, is Mathieu Bastareaud. He looks at least 15kg overweight at the moment. I think his time has probably passed as an international player and it’s time for France to look beyond him and a few others in the old guard. Bastareaud (below) can be a wrecking ball on the heavy pitches we see in the Top14. But, at Test level, the pace of the game is too fast for him now. The fact he was dropped completely for the Welsh game and then suddenly parachuted back in for the match against England illustrates the lack of a clear plan they have under Brunel. He had success in the past, but he’s not the same calibre of coach as the likes of Gregor Townsend, Joe Schmidt, Eddie Jones or Warren Gatland. If France were to make a change soon, they could do a lot worse than look to Montpellier and hire Vern Cotter or Ireland’s departing coach Schmidt. Vern was the one who really set the wheels in motion for the Scotland team we see today. He also speaks French and would encourage a modern brand of attacking rugby. A lot of people look at the blockage of foreigners in the Top14, but that’s only part of the problem. The real issue comes from the top. There is a lack of leadership in the way the national coaches connect with the players.
The style of the Top14 is also vastly different to that of international rugby. The domestic scene in France is filled with monstrous packs and the games are invariably won up front.
But that style of player only gets you so far in the Test arena, where you need more guile and imagination to thrive.
Two players who will be key in that area for Scotland are Greig Laidlaw and Finn Russell. They both play their club rugby in France, know what it’s all about, and will have the bit between their teeth to put on a real show.
Laidlaw could potentially be going up against his Clermont team-mate Morgan Parra and you can guarantee friendships will go out the window.
I played with Parra for three years at Clermont. I know what a good player he can be, but he can also be really petulant at times.
You can guarantee Laidlaw will look to get under his skin — standing on his toes around the scrum and nipping at his heels whenever he gets the chance.
Interestingly, Laidlaw was selected to start for Clermont yesterday in their Top14 fixture versus Bordeaux, while Parra was given the day off.
I wonder if Brunel had a word with the Clermont coach to keep Parra fresh and make our captain play? The French players and crowd can be so emotional. When the champagne rugby isn’t flowing, the fans can really turn on the team.
If Scotland can start well and build some pressure, there is the potential for Les Bleus to implode once again. The history books tells us Paris is a difficult place to go. But Scotland couldn’t wish for a better chance to go there and win.
It was great to see Magnus Bradbury back from injury with a try-scoring, man-of-the-match performance on Friday night for Edinburgh in their victory against the Dragons.
I would have him straight back in the 23-man squad for Paris. He gives a direct aggressive style of play that can punch holes in the strongest of defences.
Looking beyond the injuries to Stuart Hogg, Huw Jones and Ryan Wilson, there is still a strong spine to the team. If they can put France away, the Scots will be right back in contention at the top of the championship.