Galtier lines up big names for rematch, Townsend asks his team for a second try
Summer Nations Series: France and Scotland return preview – PH Sebastiano Pessina
Today, Saturday, August 12, is the rematch day for the Summer Nations Series. England and Wales will meet in the late afternoon, and in the evening, at 21.05, it will be time for the second leg of France and Scotland, which is broadcast on Sky Sport Arena and NOW.
There was a pretty crazy game at Murrayfield last week, with the Transalpines pushing themselves 3-21 in Scotland late in the first half with a clearly experimental formation, much closer to the starting XV. Then the lack of leadership among Bluesand probably too much relaxation, allowed the more experienced Highlanders to return to the game and recover before the final score of 25-21.
Read also: Summer Nations Series: Scotland crazy and winning, get 22 points in half an hour and beat France 25-21.
For Transalpine coach Fabien Galtier, this cannot be repeated today: last week was the first match of the summer with his national team and with an experimental squad to be able to see players other than the big group on the field. No more experiments: what will take to the field today at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne is France very close to type XV.
But the formidable duo of Dupont (with the captain’s armband) and Ntamak are back in the center of the field, forming a gap with the names of the caliber of defender Ramos, center Fico and winger Peno. A truly formidable trocar with a ball in hand, but not only: with Dupont, Ntamack and Ramos, France also has excellent legs for aerial combat and getting out of the red zone in case of difficulty.
But it is with attackers that Galtier seeks to win by wearing down his opponents. Apart from players who will start from the first minute such as Hooker Marchand or backlines Olivon and Aldritt who need no introduction, France have 6 forwards with excellent presence on the bench, including Burgarit, Gros and Atonio. It is by physical confrontation that the French will try to impose themselves.
On the other hand, Scotland manager Townsend also has a lot to think about. It is true that his men showed Murrayfield great character and experience in recreating the Blues; but a first half like last Saturday can no longer be afforded, especially against the French starting team.
The coach will ask his team to make new efforts, given that little has changed since last week. After two excellent games, the remaining shift was given to striker Graeme, who was replaced by Stein; scrum half White is also out, replaced by the experienced Price. He is no longer Townsend’s first choice and a confrontation with the phenomenal DuPont will be a difficult one. He needs to be able to keep the game under control and work well with Russell, who can make a difference with his quality.
In terms of strikers, Townsend is also following Galtier’s lead: inside there are many big players from the first minute (such as Grey, Gilchrist, Turner and Schuman) and, above all, 6 strikers at his disposal. Given that Scotland will also be in a Rugby World Cup group against very physical teams (see South Africa and Ireland), the 6+2 bench setup is good to start trying already.
Summer Nations Series, France – Scotland: official squads for the second leg
France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penot, 13 Gael Fico, 12 Jonathan Danti, 11 Gabin Villiers, 10 Romain Ntamak, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Gregory Aldritt, 7 Charles Olivon, 6 Paul Boudent, 5 Thibault Flament, 4 Cameron Voki, 3 Dorian Aldegueri, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Cyril Bai
Accessible: 16 Pierre Burgari, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Uini Atonio, 19 Florian Veraguet, 20 Bastien Chaloureau, 21 Sekou Macalou, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Louis Biel-Biarré.
Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Stein, 13 Hugh Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Doohan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Eli Price, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Jamie Ritchie (c), 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Ritchie Grey, 3 V. P. Nel, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schumann
Accessible: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Sam Skinner, 21 Josh Bayliss, 22 George Horne, 23 Ollie Smith
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