France v Scotland Six Nations Rugby Betting Preview, Odds & Tips – Saturday, February 5

France v Scotland really should be a cracker. France, the current defending Champions in the RBS Six Nations, had a stuttering 2010 when to trying to build on their tournament success. A horrific defeat against Australian in the autumn, means that the French have lost three of their last five test matches now, and the French side are suddenly under a lot of pressure. Coach Marc Lievremont must be wondering what has happened to his defence, as they simply haven’t been at the races. It looked as if the Six Nations effort, in which they were simply brilliant, either took everything out of them, or they were guilty of being far too complacent in their approach to the rest of the matches. This should be a World Cup contending team, but in their last few performances, they have looked far short of being world beaters. Conceding 40 points per match in those three defeats mentioned above, is a pretty horrendous record. They have simply lost their confidence and once that goes, the French can fall apart pretty quickly. There is no middle ground with the French, they are either breathtaking or they are poor. They showed so much quality in last year’s tournament, with almost perfect ball control in the rucks, and the ability to demolish teams out wide and in particular through the centre. They will be hampered by a tough fixture list, having to play Ireland and England away, and so this opener against Scotland is crucial. A loss in Paris for the home side would pretty much destroy their chance at winning the Six Nations one would imagine.

They are still the unpredictable, maverick side which has the ability to thrill and entertain, but more than that is needed here. They need to buckle down up front, cut out the errors and find some way of injecting a bit of life into their play. They simply rolled over against Australia without putting up any kind of fight, and if they thought that the visit of Scotland this year was going to be an easy one, it is not. The Scots are improving rapidly, and the French need to get out of their rut, and that is what makes this encounter so interesting. France have all of the potential in their squad to win the Six Nations, don’t be thinking that they don’t as they have talent right throughout their squad. The French have to be watched, and how much their creativity and will to win comes into play, will be a huge factor in them getting of to a winning start. They are the home team of course here, and that should count for a lot. They are not at the bottom of the barrel yet, but they still seem a way short of the 2010 Grand Slam busting team which swept through the tournament. You can’t write them off course, and they should win this match, but it is how they will cope on the road this season which will determine their success or failure. The big thing about France, is that they don’t look consistent enough to be a Grand Slam winning side again this year, but they shouldn’t have any problems getting out of the starting blocks. Confidence is everything, and that joie de vivre could well creep back into the side with a good victory. Their front five look in pretty good shape to be honest, and Scotland won’t match them.

As for Scotland, coach Andy Robinson has turned them into a team which are incredibly hard to beat at the moment. They only avoided the wooden spoon in the 2010 RBS Six Nations by a single point over Italy, but enjoyed a far more productive year after that. They have been struggling to win more than one match in the Six Nations for some time now, and they broke a long record of not being able to win away in the tournament, when they squeezed out Ireland in last year’s final round of fixtures. The thing about Scotland, is that if they do not play to the absolute heights of their potential, then they will be beaten, more often than not, comfortably. While they have beaten the likes of South Africa in the Autumn, the Scots really are still struggling to find a genuine offensive weapon in their game. They have racked up just seven tries in the thirteen matches in which Robinson has been in charge of the nation. They were horrendously undone by New Zealand in the Autumn internationals, and that brought them massively back down to earth. However, they have won five of their last six matches now, and so they are showing definite signs of improvement. No, they are not going to win the Six Nations this year, that is out of the question, particularly because they have to travel to both Twickenham and Paris, there is real potential of them picking up solid home wins. While they have done well lately, it is unlikely that they will beat France. The French have a really big point to prove to England and Ireland that they can make an impact, and they should have enough flair to outscore the stubborn Scots on the day.

In the head to head stats department, we are looking at 46 wins for France and just 34 for Scotland. There have only been three draws between the two sides, and France’s biggest winning margin over Scotland was a 51-9 victory, while Scotland’s biggest triumph in this fixture was a 31-3 win. This could be quite a close match if Scotland’s defence stands strong from the start of the match. France have averaged 13 points per game against Scotland, while Scotland have averaged just under twelve points per match. Not a great deal to choose between them in the stats here, but the ball really is in the court of the French, and they have to take the game to the visitors. You can see them running in a couple of tries at least, while trying to picture the Scottish doing the same, is a little bit more difficult. The tighter and slower the Scottish keep the game, the longer they will stay in it. They aren’t vastly expansive and will have trouble coping with the pace of the French midfield.

Last Year’s Result: Scotland 9, France 18
France Last Year’s Six Nations Finishing Position: 1st
Scotland Last Year’s Six Nations Finishing Position: 5th

France to win: 1/8 at Bwin
Draw: 33/1 at Bet365
Scotland to win: 6/1 at Boylesports