‘Our last chance’: Townsend urges Scots to seize Six Nations win against France

Gregor Townsend has challenged Scotland to seize their “last chance” to remain in the hunt for the Six Nations title by beating in-form France at Murrayfield on Saturday.

The Scots entered the tournament with high hopes, but defeat in Wales last time out means they now have little margin for error if they are to stay in contention for a first championship win since 1999, in what was then the Five Nations. Victory over France is deemed essential if the Scots are to back up their promise with silverware and Townsend believes his team are equipped to deal with that challenge.

“We know it’s our last opportunity,” the head coach said. “We believe in our team but it is our last chance to be in the race for a trophy at the end of the season. We believe in our group so we have to put everything into this at the weekend and deliver what we’re capable of delivering.”

Scotland won in Paris last year while they have not lost at home to France since 2014. However, Townsend is mindful of the fact that Les Bleus are currently one of the strongest teams in the world.

Stuart Hogg (captain); Darcy Graham, Chris Harris, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe; Finn Russell, Ali Price; Pierre Schoeman, Stuart McInally, Zander Fagerson, Sam Skinner, Grant Gilchrist, Rory Darge, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury.

Replacements:George Turner, Oli Kebble, WP Nel, Jamie Hodgson, Nick Haining, Ben White, Blair Kinghorn, Mark Bennett.

“It’s probably up there with playing South Africa in November,” he said, referencing the Autumn defeat by the world champions.

“They’re one of the top two or three teams in the world right now. They’ve got a huge pack, momentum behind them, results behind them, so it’s a great challenge for us. They’ve got their full squad