Gregor Townsend finds himself in a slightly strange position going into round four of the 2026 Guinness Six Nations, in that Scotland are still in contention for the tournament, currently sitting in second position and on for a Triple Crown no matter what happens this weekend.
The bad news is that we still have the two strongest teams to play.
Scotland last 10 games against France
First up is France coming to Murrayfield this weekend, and given Scotland’s away record in Dublin for the last decade, this is oddly actually the one Scotland might fancy of their chances in, having beaten France in recent memory. That’s even despite the fact that this France team is absolutely on fire, no matter who they pick.
If we get the good sort of Scotland performance, which they would absolutely need in order to get into a position for the officials to make another game losing decision like the UnJusticeTM, this could be a cracker.
Scotland last 10 games at home against France
Darcy Graham returns to a starting shirt along with Kyle Steyn who swaps over to the other wing to fill in for Duhan. Other than that it’s pretty much the back line you would expect. Question marks do perhaps remain at fullback so it’s a big chance for Kinghorn to perform against players who he plays alongside or faces week in and week out.
Up front Zander doesn’t start at tighthead which is a rarity when he’s been available, but he may be not fully fit? Elliot Millar-Mills has dropped out and Darcy Rae will be given the task of anchoring the scrum. Not an easy task against France!
Gregor Brown and Scott Cummings again form a dynamic second row while Jack Dempsey returns from injury to fill the Number 8 shirt.
On the bench it’s an interesting selection with a 6:2 split. Having stuck with a 5:3 bench till now that often left a player unused, Toony has altered the plan against France despite having never beaten a tier one nation when deploying a 6:2 bench (thanks Doug Campbell). George Horne and Tom Jordan are again the X-factor backs who may be tasked with making an impact against the most X-factor team in World Rugby, while Josh Bayliss adds dynamism along with Freddy Douglas who is given his first outing for the tournament.
Let’s hope they don’t have a mountain to climb and it’s a close game.
Scotland record with Angus Gardner as referee
Scotland: Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu (capt), Kyle Steyn, Finn Russell, Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Darcy Rae, Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey.
Replacements: Ewan Ashman, Rory Sutherland, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Freddy Douglas, Josh Bayliss, George Horne, Tom Jordan.
France: Thomas Ramos, Theo Attissogbe, Nicolas Depoortere, Yoram Moefana, Louis Bielle-Biarry, Matthieu Jalibert, Antoine Dupont; Jean-Baptiste Gros, Julien Marchand, Dorian Aldegheri, Charles Ollivon, Mickael Guillard, Francois Cros, Oscar Jegou, Anthony Jelonch.
Replacements: Peato Mauvaka, Rodrigue Neti, Demba Bamba, Thibaud Flament, Emmanuel Meafou, Baptiste Serin, Pierre-Louis Barassi.