Scotland host France at Murrayfield this weekend with a mountain to climb as they face an unchanged winning combination. The game kicks off at Murrayfield Stadium on Sunday 26 February at 15:00 and it will be live on BBC Two.
We do not think Andy Robinson is panicking as he tinkers with his team to try and get the best out of them and start scoring freely. He has four changes with the biggest of note being young Stuart Hogg getting a start at fullback. Mike Blair gets the nod at 9 with Chris Cusiter on the bench. Unsurprisingly Greig Laidlaw, keeps his place at fly-half, with Duncan Weir on the bench. Rory Lamont moves to the right wing and his elder brother, Sean, to outside centre.
Andy Robinson said: “Graeme Morrison has worked hard back at Glasgow and captained the team in their games against Scarlets and Connacht. He is a good ball-carrier and has something to prove on his return to the Scotland team.
Stuart Hogg did well off the bench in Cardiff, stood out in the A team victory over England Saxons and has been one of Glasgow’s most consistent performers this season. He fully deserves his first start.”
Philippe Saint-Andre said as he kept the same selection as that for the Irish game which was postponed until march: “Nobody played against Ireland, so nobody had a bad game. Everyone had prepared properly so their is a certain logic to that”.
The one guy who may feel hard done by is Dimitri Yachvili who was not selected for the Ireland game due to a problem with his back and so misses out this time.
We are predicting the French will be to strong and continue their winning ways!
Teams
Scotland: Stuart Hogg, Rory Lamont, Lee Jones, Sean Lamont, Graeme Morrison, Greig Laidlaw, Mike Blair, Allan Jacobsen, Ross Ford (captain), Geoff Cross, Richie Gray, Jim Hamilton, John Barclay, Ross Rennie, David Denton.
Replacements: Scott Lawson, Ed Kalman, Alastair Kellock, Richie Vernon, Chris Cusiter, Duncan Weir, Nick De Luca.
France: Maxime Medard, Vincent Clerc, Aurelien Rougerie, Wesley Fofana, Julien Malzieu, Francois Trinh-Duc, Morgan Parra, Louis Picamoles, Imanol Harinordoquy, Thierry Dusautoir (captain), Yoann Maestri, Pascal Pape, Nicolas Mas, Dimitri Szarzewski, Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements: William Servat, Vincent Debaty, Lionel Nallet, Julien Bonnaire, Julien Dupuy, Lionel Beauxis, Maxime Mermoz.