FINN’S CHAOS THEORY

Russell on a mission to confuse the French

THE French? Unpredictable? Au contraire. Vern Cotter knows precisely what his old hunting buddy Guy Noves has told his players ahead of tomorrow’s Six Nations showdown in Paris.

Crash ball and quick offloads, big fellas backing up other big fellas, that’s the plan. Thunder at the Stade de France, as the home side bring an intensity to each and every collision.

For all of the Scotland head coach’s hints about digging trenches and standing firm, however, he can’t change the essential nature of his own team. One that is built for thrills. Nor can he deny that, of all the players on the pitch, the most creative types are all in the visiting XV.

Finn Russell, the stand-off with the stylish sleight of hand, sought to explain the dramatic tension between set-piece steadiness and improvisation at the heart of any rounded rugby team yesterday.

‘With the ball, I think I am free to do what I want… as long as there is a reason behind it, I hope!’ he said with a grin.

‘I think we are structured but unstructured, if that makes sense. Vern calls it “creating chaos”. So, although it may seem like we don’t have a clue what is going on, we do. And the other guys out wide let me and Greig (Laidlaw, skipper and scrum-half) know what is on.

‘Me and Greig have an idea of what they might throw at us. So, if we see things, we might go for them on the hoof. You have to adapt to the situation. We did that against Ireland.

‘Vern knows French rugby really well and myself and Greig have looked at their game from last week quite a lot. So, although Vern has given us a game plan, we know where opportunities might be.

‘You can’t just throw the ball wide against France because they will fly up and they have smart players who will read that.

‘So, we will play wide sometimes, but we will have to play through them. We need to get the balance right between going round them, through them and over them. We can’t just expect to stick to one game plan.’

There was a time when getting Scotland to do just one thing well represented the limit of Cotter’s short-term ambitions. He has had to do a lot of breaking down in order to construct a squad capable of responding to changing threats.

As tough as any Six Nations game is, there is no good rugby reason why the Scots, who beat the French at Murrayfield last year, should be fearful of this challenge. France, for all their improvements under Noves, are simply not that frightening.

Cotter has made just one change to the starting line-up from Ireland, with John Barclay coming into the back row for Ryan Wilson, who misses out with an infected elbow.

Whoever he picked, the emphasis was always going to be on stopping the hosts from building momentum. Halting the full-frontal French approach, according to the Kiwi, is as much down to mental sharpness as physical strength.

‘A lot of it is about just trusting each other,’ said Cotter. ‘Getting in there, digging in. That comes from your belief in what you’re doing.

‘I think, previously, we’ve tried to invent something that would change the momentum — rather than just stick with what we know, what we’ve prepared for and dig in tight, knowing we’ll get our turn.

‘Then, when we get our turn, we make the most of it. That comes down to experience and maturity. And, as I say, a lot of trust.

‘I know Guy is a bit grumpy after last year. He mentioned it to me only two weeks ago! They will be very motivated and, if they feel they can go forward into space, they will look for that space with offloads. That’s their game.

‘Guy speeds the game up but it is constructed with a big forward pack, which is once again reflected in his team selection. They want to carry hard. They will have looked at Ireland during periods last week, when they carried hard and made gains. They’ll want to do that and free up space.

‘If you kick the ball out, you’ve got to kick it into the stands because they’ll play it quickly. Those are the simple things you need to do.

‘Toulouse, when they were playing at their best under Guy, everyone said it was French flair. But it was their forward pack who constructed everything. They build it all on dominating up front first.’

There is definitely a psychological battle to be won in the opening 20 minutes; Scotland running in two early tries against the Irish last week shows both what can be done and how a home side can be lifted by their crowd.

‘Getting them frustrated is key,’ said Cotter. ‘We want them to break down their week’s preparation. We don’t want to give them an easy run, put it that way.

‘We have to anticipate and defend smart, try to get them frustrated and get them to push their game.

‘The French, I know, when they’re playing at home, it’s important to them. But we believe there is an opportunity to counter them at the right time, in the right phases of play — and we should get something from that.’

The merest sniff of a victory in Paris is enough to energise a Scottish support inevitably swollen in number, following last weekend’s opening triumph.

Since that last win there in 1999, we have come close a few times — Ally Hogg’s foot was not in touch, right — and taken a couple of beatings.

It is hard to see the latter scenario playing out. Not with this France side. Not against this Scotland group. If most people predict a close-run thing, then, one or two pieces of brilliance may decide the whole contest.

Take a long look at the searing pace and deftness of touch assembled from nine through 15 in the visiting ranks. And rest assured, there’s enough there to leave the French wondering how to cope with the ensuing chaos.