Scotland: Sam Skinner expects France to be on revenge mission in Six Nations clash

Adam Kyriacou 22 Feb 2022 2:54 PM

Scotland back-row Sam Skinner expects to face a France side hunting revenge when the teams meet in their Six Nations clash at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Gregor Townsend’s charges were victorious in Paris last year and have a hold over Les Bleus on home soil, having won their last four games in Edinburgh.

But versatile Exeter Chiefs forward Skinner is wary of France this week and predicts they will use their recent Six Nations meetings as extra motivation.

Have to be at our best

“We’ve played France a few times over the years and winning at home and winning away definitely gives us confidence and belief that we can beat them,” he said.

“But I think you can flip the coin. They came to our place wanting to win a Grand Slam and we stopped them [in 2020] and then we won in Paris so it’s going to give them plenty of energy to fuel the fire. We’re under no illusion about what we’re facing this weekend, that’s for sure.

“We’ve beaten them in the past but they’re an improving side and are extremely strong right now, everyone can see that. And they’ve been consistent with it as well.

“I think this is the strongest France side we’ll have faced over the last few occasions we’ve played them and we need to make sure we’re at our very best in order to get the win.”

Scotland have had a tournament of mixed emotions so far, with their 20-17 opening-day victory over England followed by a defeat by the same scoreline in Wales last time out. Skinner is eager to restore the sense of positivity that prevailed before the disappointment in Cardiff.

“Ultimately we’ve got to move forward at some point and it’s a huge challenge this weekend,” he said. “But briefly looking back, from England to Wales, in terms of performances, they weren’t too dissimilar. We were strong in some areas and weak in others. We’re not the finished article yet and we’re still trying to improve week in, week out.

“We were on the right side of the victory against England, and playing at Murrayfield gave us that boost to seal the win. Being on the wrong side of the result against Wales, despite putting in a similar standard of performance, naturally brings on pressure, disappointment and frustration.

“We believed we could go down there and win and we put a lot of energy into that game. We were gutted not to get the result but we’ve got to move on, we’ve got to put it right, because this is do-or-die for us this weekend.”

France