By We have a Scotland v France prediction for you plus a breakdown of the betting odds, team news and matchups ahead of the second round of Six Nations fixtures.
How To Watch Scotland v France
When is Scotland v France
2.15 pm, Saturday, February 10th
TV Channel
Viewers in the UK can watch the game on BBC One.
In the Republic of Ireland you can watch the game on Virgin Media One.
Who are the officiating team?
Referee: Nic Berry (RA)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Jordan Way (RA)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)
Where is Scotland v France
The game will be played in Murrayfield, Edinburgh as Scotland are the home team.
Scotland v France Odds
| Scotland v France Betting Odds – Six Nations | ||
| Team | Odds | Chance |
| Scotland | 6/4 | 40% |
| France | 4/7 | 63.6% |
| Draw | 20/1 | 4.8% |
Scotland are 6/4 underdogs to pull off an upset against France at home per the latest Six Nations odds at BoyleSports.
France are the 4/7 favourites to return to winning ways on Saturday after their opening round defeat to Ireland. The draw is priced up at 20/1 according to the latest rugby odds at BoyleSports.
Handicap Betting
Scotland: +4 @ 10/11
France -4 @ 10/11
Handicap Draw: +4 @ 18/1
Click Below For Our Live Scotland v France Odds
Teams News
Scotland Team News
Rory Darge and Grant Gilchrist will return for Scotland, both were absent from their victory against Wales due to Darge having a knee injury and Gilchrist being suspended. The arrival of Darge and Gilchrist into the squad should be a boost to the Scottish pack.
It’s looking likely Richie Gray could miss the rest of this season’s tournament due to a biceps problem, while Luke Crosbie suffered a shoulder injury as both players made early exits at the Principality Stadium.
Scotland Starting XV
- Pierre Schoeman
- George Turner
- Zander Fagerson
- Grant Gilchrist
- Scott Cummings
- Matt Fagerson
- Rory Darge
- Jack Dempsey
- Ben White
- Finn Russell
- Duhan van der Merwe
- Sione Tuipulotu
- Huw Jones
- Kyle Steyn
- Kyle Rowe
France Team News
The key absentee for France will be their Lock Paul Willemse who misses out through suspension following his red card against Ireland. He will be replaced by Cameron Woki in the second row.
The only other change is that Yoram Moefana will drop to the bench as Louis Bielle-Biarrey takes his place on the wing.
It’s also worth noting that France’s star scrum half Antoine Dupont is not with the team for this Six Nations as he steps away from the 15s game to concentrate on helping the France 7s side at this year’s Olympic Games.
France Starting XV
- Cyril Baille
- Peato Mauvaka
- Uini Antonio
- Cameron Woki
- Paul Gabrillagues
- Francois Cros
- Charles Ollivon
- Gregory Alldritt (C)
- Maxime Lucu
- Matthieu Jalibert
- Louis Bielle-Biarrey
- Jonathan Danty
- Gael Fickou
- Damian Penaud
15, Thomas Ramos
Scotland v France Weather Forecast
Perfect conditions for rugby are expected on Saturday, with minimal rain beforehand.
Temperature
The temperature is predicted to be about 6°C throughout the game.
Wind
On Saturday wind speed will be 16 to 23 km/h.
Rain
On Saturday there is expected to be 8mm of rainfall, with the end of it finishing an hour before kick-off.
Scotland v France Preview
Scotland’s Form
The Scots came flying out of the blocks against Wales in their opening game of this Six Nations as they raced out to a 27-0 lead. They finished the game very poorly however as Wales had reduced the deficit to just 1 point going into the final 10 minutes of the game.
Scotland held on however and avoided a historic collapse. They will be relieved to have gotten a win on the board but there are certainly plenty of question marks about this side going into this game against France.
Scotland entered the Rugby World Cup following a strong 3rd-place finish in the 2023 Six Nations. However, they were disappointingly dumped out of the tournament at the Pool Stage.
To be fair to Scotland, they were given about as tough a draw as you could get in a World Cup with both Ireland and South Africa in their pool. With that said, they offered little resistance in their games against those two nations so Scottish rugby fans will feel the team didn’t play up to their potential.
France’s Form
Head Coach Fabien Galthié has turned French fortunes around since taking over in 2019. He guided them to a 2022 Grand Slam victory and entered the 2024 Six Nations with a win rate of 80% with 36 wins from 40 games.
Plenty were tipping France for flowers in this tournament following their disappointment at the Rugby World Cup. However, their opening round 17-38 defeat against Ireland means at the very least a Grand Slam success will have to be suspended for another year.
France topped their RWC pool which included an impressive 27-13 victory against New Zealand in the tournament’s opening game. However, heartbreak came at the Quarter-Final stage when they narrowly lost 28-29 to eventual winners South Africa.
Scotland Attack v France Defence
Scotland amassed a 27-point total in their victory against Wales. The first of their three tries came from Prop Pierre Schoeman before a brace of tries from winger Van der Merwe. Interestingly, both players are from South Africa which shows the dearth of talent the RWC Champions had at their disposal.
Finn Russell was also faultless from the kicking tee with 3/3 conversions and 2/2 penalties, his performance will be key to Scotland’s chances.
France for all the fanfare behind the team conceded 38 points which was the most they had ever conceded against an Irish side. The main defensive talking point was the yellow card of Paul Willemse in the 7th minute before he was sent off in the 30th minute. It was always going to be difficult for France to contain Ireland with one less player.
France Attack v Scotland Defence
France against Ireland scored two tries, the first coming from serial try-scorer Damian Penaud who converted his 36th International Try in 49 games for France against Ireland, with the other coming from Lock Paul Gabrillagues who scored his second international try.
Ramos made 2/2 conversions but was restricted to scoring 1/2 penalties in the game as Ireland were steadfast in defence.
Scotland conceded 26 points against Wales including 4 second-half tries (not scoring a try in the second half themselves) to survive a Welsh onslaught to win the game. They’ll need to maintain their concentration for both halves against France or they could receive a bad beating.
Scotland v France Rugby Head-To-Head
All-Time Head-To-Head Record
The national rugby union teams of France and Scotland have been playing each other in Test rugby since 1910 when the two teams played against each other in Edinburgh. Scotland won the match 27–0.
Since then there have been a total of 102 games played, resulting in 59 wins for France, 40 wins for Scotland and 3 draws, as of August 2023.
Head-To-Head Results Last Five Matches
2023: France won 30-27 in Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
2023: Scotland won 25-21- in Stadio Olimpico
2023: France won 32-21 in Stade de France
2022: France won 17-36 in Murrayfield
2021: Scotland won 23-37 in Stade de France
Trends
France have won 6 of their last 10 matches against Scotland.
Key Players
Finn Russell – Scotland
From one up-and-coming Fly-Half to a more established International Finn Russell (31) has 75 appearances and 327 points for Scotland. Russell is known for his attacking intent with a distinctive style of smart kicks and flicks to try and create opportunities for his teammates.
Russell was faultless from the kicking tee in their opening round 26-27 victory against Wales hitting 3/3 conversions and 2/2 penalties.
Maxime Lucu – France
Following the news that Dupont would be effectively “abstaining” from this tournament, the huge issue for France was always going to be the man to replace their talismanic captain. Lucu who has been in Dupont’s shadow (not something to be ashamed of) is a 31-year-old scrum-half who plays his club Rugby for Bordeaux and is a talent of his own right.
It was a tough outing against Ireland in their opening fixture, despite some solid clearance kicking, he was replaced in the second half showing that the coaches weren’t overly enamoured by his performance. He should get the nod for Scotland, but his position in the Starting 15 for the remainder of the tournament could depend on his next performance.
Scotland v France Prediction & Best Bet
Prediction: Scotland 17-25 France
Scotland surged into a lead against Wales last weekend before surviving an onslaught from an inexperienced Welsh side. It’ll be interesting to see where they stand against France though they can gain solace in the fact in recent years they’ve been consistently competitive against France.
Plenty was expected of this French side and although they disappointed against Ireland, this Scottish side should be a substantially easier task for them to get their campaign back in a positive direction.
France should win this, but I don’t believe it will be an easy victory.
Best Bet: France by 6 to 10 Points @ 5/1
Click Below For Our LIVE Scotland v France Odds
*Prices subject to fluctuation
