Scots will give France respect but no more – Steyn

While France will come rolling into Edinburgh this weekend as roaring favourites to dispatch Scotland and take another step on their seemingly unstoppable march to a Grand Slam, this edition of the Six Nations has already left plenty of tipsters looking a little foolish.

Who would have predicted that an England side on a 12-match winning run would be turned over so comprehensively by Scotland in round two, then obliterated at Twickenham a week later by an Ireland team many had dismissed as over the hill?

It’s a championship that has thrown up all manner of surprises, but Scotland derailing French Grand Slam hopes on Saturday (14:10 GMT) would top the lot.

Fabien Galthie’s side know a bonus-point win will secure the title with a round to spare and would release some of the pressure as they look to go five from five in front of their own people in Paris against England on the final weekend.

Scotland’s motivation is just as strong. They know a win will mean they head to Dublin to face the Irish in round five in a position they have never been in before in the Six Nations era – with a genuine shot at the title in the final game.

To say the first three weeks of the campaign took an emotional toll on the Scots would be putting it mildly. A dispiriting opening defeat by Italy in Rome, that electrifying victory over England that showcased Gregor Townsend’s side at their very best, then a gritty win over Wales in Cardiff.

It’s been exhausting watching them so goodness knows how the players were feeling after round three. The one and only fallow week in the new condensed format has come at a good time for Scotland as they look to reset and kick on to that place they have never managed to reach.

“It is obviously a massive motivator but I haven’t even thought about that week in Dublin yet,” said Scotland winger Kyle Steyn.

The 32-year-old added: “It was just so good to get some time with my family. It was the first time we’d had three weeks and then we were obviously away [for a training camp] in Spain, so I just really enjoyed that.

“I feel like that’s just really filled the emotional and mental tank again and it’s just been so exciting to come into camp and rip into this week.

“We know the challenge that’s coming this week and the kind of machine that’s French rugby at the moment. Whenever we’ve come up against these guys, we’ve had some really good games, some really fun clashes, some really big clashes… So I’m just looking forward to another one of them.”

‘Two teams that love to play’

As formidable as France are, they have never quite held the same fear factor for Scotland as the likes of Ireland in recent times. During Townsend’s reign they have faced France 13 times across Six Nations, Autumn Nations Cup and World Cup warm-up matches and have won five of them.

Scotland fans will be quick to point out it should have been six, given the controversial intervention from the television match official to rule out what would have been a match-winning try from Sam Skinner in the final play of the Six Nations meeting at Murrayfield two years ago.

The average score across those 13 games is roughly 26-20 (25.76 to 19.58 to be precise) in France’s favour, an indicator that when these teams play it is very rarely a blowout.

France do damage in devastating bursts but they do allow opponents opportunities, something Scotland have been able to take advantage of to produce some very entertaining Test matches.

“It’s two teams that love to play rugby. They often are really fatiguing games because you’ve got two teams that are trying to have a crack,” said Steyn, who after years of playing understudy to Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham for the national team, has played himself to the front of the queue for a wing spot.

“Both teams will make errors and we obviously know how lethal they are from transition so you’ve got to try and not make those errors, but at the same time, they’ve got a big juggernaut up front that needs to move and we relish the chance to have a go against them and try and make them defend. You look forward to these games, they’re always so much fun.

“This is a game where you just know it’s going to be fun from one to 80. You don’t know what’s going to happen but it’s going to flow.

“France have had a cracking tournament so far and when you look at them, they’ve got threats all across the park.

“It’s the same as any other week from that point of view. You’ve got to give them the respect they deserve – but no more than that.”

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