Scotland – France

Scotland and France will square off in a World Cup warm-up test match at Murrayfield on Saturday. It will be the second match of a double header between the two Nations, with France winning 32-3 in Nice last weekend.

Scotland was really poor last week, being completely outmatched and outplayed by a spirited France in a 29 point blowout. It hasn`t been the best season for the Scots, as they seemingly took a bit of a step back after all the progress made in the last few years. They got just one win in the Six Nations in February – March, but in all fairness they also dealt with an injury crisis back then. And they ended the competition with an otherworldly 31 point comeback to earn a draw in England – showing they still got what it takes.

France is looking pretty good and fresh before the World Cup, which is exciting for a team that consistently struggled and underperformed in the recent past. That`s not to say Les Bleus don`t have plenty to improve, as the team is still far from what is expected from a rugby nation of France`s caliber. The French finished 3rd in the Six Nations with 2 wins and 3 losses, beating Scotland 27-10 at Stade De France along the way. France was particularly impressive last week, drubbing the Scots 32-3.

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Team news & lineups:

With less than a month until the start of the World Cup, both sides will name very strong lineups here.

Scotland will bring 14 fresh new faces in, so the starting XV is almost completely changed from last week in Nice, definitely being stronger and more experienced. France will make just 4 changes to the lineup which started in that game.

Scotland: 1 Gordon Reid, 2 George Turner, 3 WP Nel, 4 Scott Cummings, 5 Sam Skinner, 6 Ryan Wilson, 7 Hamish Watson, 8 Blade Thomson, 9 Greig Laidlaw (C), 10 Finn Russell, 11 Sean Maitland, 12 Pete Horne, 13 Chris Harris, 14 Tommy Seymour, 15 Stuart Hogg

France: 1 Jefferson Poirot (C), 2 Guilhem Guirado, 3 Rabah Slimani, 4 Félix Lambey, 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 6 Arthur Iturria, 7 Charles Ollivon, 8 Grégory Alldritt, 9 Antoine Dupont, 10 Camille Lopez, 11 Alivereti Raka, 12 Wesley Fofana, 13 Gaël Fickou, 14 Damian Penaud, 15 Thomas Ramos

Scotland has notoriously struggled against the French and their style of play, winning just twice in the last 15 games, and only three times in the last 23 games! However, they did win 2 of the last 5 meetings and the last two at home, so that`s something to be hopeful about.

After seeing France demolishing the Scots last weekend in Nice, and considering the H2H between these two sides, it seems pretty hard to go against the French here. However, the bookies have made Scotland favorites for a reason, and I believe the home side will win this game.

Scotland has been a better team than France in recent years and it`s fair to say the Scots are a better team right now as well. Even with their struggles against France, they did win their last two home games against them.

This will be a completely different Scotland lineup than the one which was shattered in Nice. Laidlaw and Russell alone will make a huge difference in terms of playmaking and rhythm. It`s a better outfit and a more experienced one than the rather experienced starting XV which took the field in France. The French were fully expected to win that game comfortably with the lineup Scotland put in, so only the 29 point margin was a surprise.

With the current lineup, the Scots will look different than last week, and it`s very important that they will be more rested and more fresh than the French, who will use almost the same lineup as in Nice.

And, while in Rugby you know that every team will try hard in every game, it`s reasonable to expect the Scots to be a bit more intense here. In these World Cup warm ups staying injury free remains the main objective, but the Scots have no option but to go full steam in order to redeem themselves in front of their own fans after last week`s humiliation. They should have that extra 5% compared to France, which has nothing to prove and is on the road.

Weather should be almost perfect for rugby, it will be chilly with no rain and no wind, although it will be very humid. Scotland with their running game and excellent kickers will enjoy that, although it`s a stretch to say that it will be an advantage.

With the quality in their ranks, with the motivation factor, home court advantage and being better rested than France, the Scots should win this game of rugby – and last week`s drubbing helps us with better odds for Scotland this time around. Prediction: Scotland – France 26 – 21.

Pick: Scotland
Odds: 1.75 @ Unibet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 6
Event date: 24 August