Watson back in Scots line-up, France change one

Gregor Townsend has challenged his Scotland players to "go up a few levels" as he backed them to deal with the formidable test they face against France in Paris on Sunday (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player).

The Scots are joint top of the Guinness Six Nations table, with Ireland ahead on points difference, after opening their campaign with bonus-point wins away to England and at home to Wales.

However, head coach Townsend feels they will need to show further improvement if they are to maintain their perfect start in the Stade de France against the side ranked second in the world.

"We were tough on the players going into the Wales week, and rightly so because in the past we haven't backed up our first performance going into the second week of the Six Nations and also because we believed there was much more to come from the group," Townsend said, speaking on Friday morning as the team prepared to fly to Paris.

"We feel the same way this week. I think the players realise what a big test this is going to be, playing one of the best teams in the world on their home patch, at a venue we haven’t had much success (at) over the past 100 years.

"It’s going to be a tough challenge but we can match that challenge. We can improve from the Wales game. Going into a game like this on the back of wins is a much better place to be than if you’re coming off the back of defeats.

"You’ve got that confident feeling about how you’re playing and you’ve also got evidence that what you’re doing is leading to good things."

Townsend unsurprisingly has kept changes to a minimum, with just one alteration to the starting XV as 2021 British and Irish Lions squad member Hamish Watson takes the place of fellow Edinburgh flanker Luke Crosbie.

Ali Price – another Lion –