Scotland boss claims ‘France nicked our idea’ as he prepares for ‘toughest fixture in World Rugby’
Gregor Townsend believes that his team will be facing the 'toughest fixture' in World Rugby.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend believes that his team will be facing the “toughest fixture” in World Rugby in the final round of the 2025 Six Nations.
Following the narrow victory over Wales, Scotland have the longest of shots at winning the tournament, needing to defeat France by 52 points, with that result being paired with England and Ireland losses.
Townsend was “shocked” by the permutations after the win over Wales, stating that the team will “have that at the back of our minds” for the final round of the tournament.
France nicked Scotland’s idea
The Scots face a fired-up French outfit who defeated Ireland 42-27 in round four and will be confident of lifting the Six Nations trophy on home soil.
The head coach expects Paris to be buzzing on Super Saturday as he believes it will “be pumped up to the max” especially after they stole a Murrayfield tactic.
“The atmosphere at the Stade de France is amazing now, we saw that during the World Cup… They’ve nicked our idea of taking the background music away when they sing the anthem, so it’s now just the crowd singing at the Stade de France,” Townsend joked before highlighting the challenge that awaits his team.
“And then they’re a quality side. When you saw the French club teams dominating in Europe and scoring 70-80 points against quality English sides on a couple of occasions, it shows you what can happen if you allow them to get on the front foot.
“They scored 70 points against a very good Italian team. They got 40 points against Wales, 40 points against Ireland and I think they could have scored 40 or 50 against England with the amount of chances they had.”
Toughest fixture
France’s form, albeit with the 7-1 bench split, a tactic that Townsend believes should not be allowed, leads the head coach to state that there is no tougher fixture in international rugby.
“This is probably the toughest fixture in world rugby,” he added.
“They beat the All Blacks in November, so we can’t wait to be involved in it.
“We know they’ll be going for the title, but it’s an opportunity for us to go out and play against one of the best teams right now.”
Meanwhile, Townsend is hopeful that co-captain Rory Darge will recover in time for the match in Paris.
Darge was forced off the pitch in the opening half of the clash with Wales due to a hip injury.
“He just had a bang on his hip, it’s a real acute pain that was stopping him from functioning at the level required,” Townsend explained.
“We’ve had a couple of players have that this year and they’ve turned it around in time for the following week. So he’s optimistic that it’ll recover in time for Paris.”
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