France v Scotland preview: Le Bomb Squad to blast ‘underachievers’ to Six Nations glory on home soil
France playmaker Romain Ntamack and Scotland counterpart Finn Russell.
It all comes down to the final game of the 2025 Six Nations as France and Scotland collide in the rugby cathedral that is the Stade de France.
Fabien Galthie’s table-topping Les Bleus outfit return home after slaughtering the defending champions 42-27 in Dublin and the France boss is showing no mercy for their next opponents, loading up his arsenal with 15 forwards yet again.
Le Bomb Squad is locked and loaded for another onslaught but this time in front of their passionate fans with the chant of ‘Allez, Allez Les Bleus’ being belted out in Paris.
While the cavalry is stacked with powerful forwards, it is without France’s most lethal weapon and leader Antoine Dupont, but his absence is likely only to spur the French on.
Their opponents arrive in Paris off the back of a morale-boosting victory over a battered and bruised Welsh outfit. Scotland put Wales to the sword, clinching a 35-29 victory, a margin that does not paint the full picture of the events in Murrayfield where Gregor Townsend’s side raced into a comprehensive lead only to forget to change gears and stalled with 30 minutes still left on the clock.
Scotland have been dubbed the perennial underachievers with Townsend’s star-studded outfit failing to launch a real title bid in the Six Nations during his time in charge of the side. But the same the can be said of France with Galthie also possessing a golden generation of stars but only have one title to show for it. With the opportunity to double their tally, only 80 minutes stand in the way of Les Bleus and glory.
Where the game will be won
Across the two matchday 23s, there are 29 forwards and just 17 backs, making it plainly obvious where the game will be won and lost, up front.
Scotland boss Townsend has bemoaned the use of forward-dominated benches in international rugby but that has not stopped him from following suit and reducing his backline options from his last teamsheet by one – clearly a response to his counterpart once again backing the 7-1 split.
While the two respective backlines have produced the razzle, dazzle and thrilling highlight reels this Six Nations, the real work has been done upfront. Creating quick attacking ball, one-man rucks and laying the perfect foundation from the set-pieces have been cornerstone of both teams’ success.
Perhaps that is what makes France’s decision to select such a forward-dominated replacement bench such a no-brainer. The likes of Damian Penaud, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Romain Ntamack, Thomas Ramos and the rest of the backline undoubtedly have the creative juices to conjure something up for a full 80 minutes but need the pace and accuracy in the key battlegrounds to make that possible.
Scotland head to Paris as the underdogs but they will take confidence for the way they were able to rip Wales apart last time out, but also their last three meetings with Les Blues with the final outcome being within three points.
Still, if the Scots are to back up their pre-World Cup efforts when they knocked over the French, they will need to disrupt those one-man rucks that France are better at creating than any other Test nation. Getting parity at the very least at scrum time and in the lineouts will be crucial. Scotland certainly have the quality in their pack to do so and have done so at times this Championship. The real challenge will be keeping the pace for the full 80 minutes.
Last time they met
What they said
Scotland head into the final match of the Six Nations with a longshot opportunity at winning the title but barring a miracle, Townsend’s charges will likely finish fourth. Despite the disappointment of failing to really challenge for the title, the Scottish head coach believes his team has fared well in this Championship.
“We’ll evaluate every game and what we could have done better and where we were,” he said after naming his team for the encounter.
“It’s up to others to evaluate where we are. I feel strongly that this has been a very good tournament in terms of how we’ve played.
“Down in Twickenham was one of the best performances I’ve seen from this team. We came off the back of a narrow defeat there and showed some outstanding rugby against Wales. It was a record points we’ve scored in the first half in a championship game.
“The team involvement as well and the team tries were great to see. Darcy Graham’s try went through 11 phases and had 11 different players on the ball. Those are very encouraging. Team performances are giving us chances to score.”
Still, Scotland have the opportunity to finish the tournament on a high by ending France’s title run at the final hurdle. Townsend reflected on previous encounters against Les Bleus and fancies his charges’ chances of getting over the line this time around.
“From our perspective, we’ve played well in the (France) games,” said Townsend. “We’ve had to recover at times from two red cards in the last two or three games against them.
“One, we got back into position two years ago at Stade de France to really put them under pressure (in the 2023 Six Nations) and then a World Cup warm-up game (at Murrayfield) to come back and win with 14 men.
“We’ve gone well in this fixture, our players are a quality group, they thrive in that atmosphere. They thrive with the challenge and this is what we’re asking them to do again this weekend.”
Meanwhile, for a second week in a row, France boss Galthie has backed the tactic of a forward-heavy bench, selecting just one back and seven forwards.
Ahead of the encounter, he states that the decision was simply based on France’s performances and that the tactic has nothing to do with Scotland.
“It’s mainly about us and our performances,” he said. “Quite simply. We didn’t prepare a bench specifically for Scotland. It’s a bench to perform.”
France will be without their inspirational captain Dupont for the fixture. He will still be an inspiration for the team according to the head coach.
“I’m not going to dwell on the controversies surrounding Dupont’s injury, a player who has become iconic in our team and beyond,” he said.
“He’s here, he’s with us within the walls but not on the pitch. It’s part of all the elements that fuel our motivation and determination. It’s something that has marked us and will remain, just like other moments.
“If we look back over the last six years, this team has never been spared. It’s moving forward, but we’ve fought to experience great moments. Life isn’t always fair for a rugby player; injury is part of our daily lives. We know it can happen, but it’s painful.”
Players to watch
As mentioned above, France’s ability to create one-man attacking rucks have been the cornerstone of their success this Six Nations, and Francois Cros has led the charge in this regard. The Toulouse star is mightily effective at the breakdown, but his impact extends much further as he showed in the opening stages of the victory over Ireland. He made countless interventions in the opening quarter and stalled the Irish attack as often as he could. A true workhorse and a majorly underappreciated star everywhere but in his country.
France’s back-row has been nothing short of sensational, and that is particularly true for La Rochelle star Paul Boudehent, who has seemingly grown an extra arm and leg since filling Charles Ollivon’s shoes. He crossed for a crucial try against Ireland last week which was just reward for his efforts on both sides of the ball.
The man that will be central to France’s efforts is Maxime Lucu who fills in for the injured Dupont. While the Bordeaux star has produced underwhelming performances in doing just that in recent seasons, that was not the case last week as he powered his charges to victory following the captain’s injury. What was key to his success was not that he attempted to be a copy of Dupont but played his natural game. He will do well to do the same this weekend.
Finally from the hosts, superstar winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey is on the cusp of creating his own bit of history, needing just one try to break the record for the most crossings in a Six Nations Championship. He currently sits level with Jacob Stockdale’s 2021 efforts (7) but one more score and he is out on his own.
But the winger will have a tough challenge as he goes toe-to-toe with the elusive and lethal Darcy Graham. The Scotsman is cut from the same cloth as he too has blistering pace, a wonderful sidestep and all the skills to cause France all kinds of headaches.
Graham will be hoping that the ball comes his way with the in-form Huw Jones on his inside. Jones is making a good fist of sealing his place on the plane to Australia later this year. A lethal attacker, the Scottish midfielder has also impressed defensively but will need to be on top of his game with veteran Gael Fickou back in the Les Bleus jersey.
In the Scotland pack, Jamie Ritchie has rediscovered some of his career-best form this Six Nations. He has been a menace at the breakdown, furious in defence and excellent with ball in hand whether it be taking it to the line or putting his teammates into space. A lineout expert too, Ritchie has a big task on his hands this weekend.
Main head-to-head
As much as the pack battle will be crucial in the outcome of the match, the generals will be even more influential as Romain Ntamack and Finn Russell aim to steer their respective teams to victory.
France’s kicking game has been another deadly weapon for Galthie’s charges and while Dupont was central to it, Ntamack and Lucu carried the baton sensationally against Ireland. France have been a different beast with Ntamack in the number ten jersey this campaign but faces his most daunting task in the form of Russell.
The Scottish co-captain is quite simply one of the best fly-halves in the business and while his attacking prowess always catches the attention, his kicking game is of the highest order, as is his game management. If Scotland are to upset the form table, Russell will undoubtedly play a pivotal role.
Prediction
Admittedly, we predicted Scotland to be beaten by a battered Welsh outfit last time out, which proved to be wrong. It was a shot in the dark, a bold call, but this weekend, we can’t see the odds being beaten. France will be emotionally driven to finally deliver a trophy in front of their fans after the disappointment of the World Cup and the failed Six Nations campaigns of years gone by. That’s not to forget their feelings of injustice. Le Bomb Squad is loaded, the safety is off and with the scope lined up on the jugular, the Six Nations trophy, the trigger just needs to be pulled. Ireland scored two tries to make the scoreline resemble some form of respectability late on in the match and Scotland may well do the same but another big margin of victory surely awaits. France by 15 points.
Previous results
2024: France won 20-16 at Murrayfield
2023: France won 30-27 in Saint-Etienne
2023: Scotland won 25-21 at Murrayfield
2023: France won 32-21 in Paris
2022: France won 36-17 at Murrayfield
2021: Scotland won 27-23 in Paris
2020: France won 22-15 at Murrayfield
2020: Scotland won 28-17 at Murrayfield
2019: Scotland won 17-14 at Murrayfield
2019: France won 32-3 in Nice
2019: France won 27-10 in Paris
The teams
France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Gregory Alldritt (c), 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Mickael Guillard, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Uini Atonio 2, Peato Mauvaka, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyrill Baille, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Hugo Auradou, 20 Emmanuel Meafou, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Antony Jelonch, 23 Nolann le Garrec
Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Gregor Brown, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Jonny Gray, 20 Marshall Sykes, 21 Ben Muncaster, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Stafford McDowall
Date: Saturday, March 15
Venue: Stade de France, Paris
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 GMT)
Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
FPRO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
Broadcasters: ITV, S4C, France Télévisions, RTE, Sky Sport / TV8 (Italy), Supersport (Africa), WOWOW (Japan), Premier Sports (Pan Asia), Stan Sport (Australia), Sky NZ (New Zealand), DAZN (Canada), NBC / Peacock / FuboTV (USA)
