Six Nations: France v Scotland – Key Battles

Uini Atonio v Pierre Schoeman

If the Scots are to have any hopes of stunning their hosts, they’ll have to gain parity up front. That’ll be a tough task as France have the best scrum this season while Scotland have the worst.

The French pack are bully ballers of note and Atonio is one of the biggest and baddest of the bunch. Tipping the scales at 145kg, he’s the cornerstone of France’s scrum and will seek to steamroll Schoeman.

For a beefy South African, Schoeman gives up 27kg to his opponent at 118kg. Of course, he’s much more mobile and active in open play, but, again, his and the other Scottish forwards’ main mission will be to muscle up to their French foes.

Maxime Lucu v Ben White

Lucu is the man of the moment after his heroics against Ireland last weekend. The whole of France looked to him when he had to replace Antoine Dupont after Les Bleus’ captain and one of the best players in the world limped off in the 29th minute.

Lucu rose to the occasion in phenomenal fashion and will look to replicate that form when he starts in the No. 9 jersey this weekend. Having lost just once in 26 caps, against Ireland last year, he boasts an unparalleled 96% win rate at this level for France, so he’s just the man for the job.

White is one of the most underrated scrumhalves in the international arena. His fundamentals are fantastic, he makes the right decisions nine times out of 10 and is super consistent. He’s a cool customer as well, which will be vitally important in the cauldron that is the Stade de France. 

Romain Ntamack v Finn Russell

No head-to-head clash is more pivotal than the face-off at flyhalf where a level-headed driver meets a playmaking maestro.

Ntamack is the total package, a 10 that can do it all. Granted, France base their game around the scrumhalf, but the 25-year-old is a key cog in the Les Bleus machine and he’ll have to carry more responsibility on his shoulders to alleviate the pressure on Lucu.

Scotland’s other co-captain, Russell is one of the game’s great entertainers. A visionary with a licence to thrill, he can unlock the stingiest of defences with his exceptional ability to read the game and manipulate space. He was back to his best in last weekend’s 35-29 win over Wales and needs to fire if the Scots are to spring the upset.

Damian Penaud v Duhan van der Merwe

The leading all-time try-scorers of their respective teams will look to outdo one another on Saturday.

Going over for his 38th Test try in the 75th minute against Ireland last weekend, Penaud (55 caps) equalled the French record held by Serge Blanco (93 caps) since 1991. The graceful runner and fierce finisher boasts a strike rate of 0.69 tries per match, significantly higher than Blanco’s 0.41.

South African-born Van der Merwe, meanwhile, has scored more tries for his adopted nation of Scotland than anyone else with 32. A freak of nature, the giant winger with the scintillating speed has been in fine form scoring and creating tries. A knock on him has been that he disappears in big games, so this is an opportunity for him to come to the fore.

Thomas Ramos v Blair Kinghorn

Ramos is on the brink of history. With 379 points to his name at the end of the 2024 autumn internationals, he entered the Six Nations just 57 points away from surpassing Frederic Michalak (436 points) as France’s all-time leading scorer.

After notching 17 points against Ireland (bringing his total for this year’s tournament to 51), Ramos now sits on 430 points – just six shy of Michalak’s record. Thus, all eyes will be on him come Saturday.

Kinghorn has been nothing short of electrifying. He leads this year’s championship in carries (72), metres carried (652), metres gained (461) and offloads (12), while he’s joint-second in line breaks (7).