Attack-minded Scots head to France
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Scotland defensive coach Matt Taylor is predicting attacking fireworks when his side head to Paris this weekend to open their Six Nations campaign against France.
Head coach Vern Cotter is expecting a much-improved performance from Scotland as they look to put the finishing touches to their World Cup preparation over the next eight weeks.
Against Tonga and Argentina in November Scotland scored ten tries in total, demonstrating a new-found attacking intent and ability to cause any team problems.
And with France also possessing an explosive backline, Taylor is expecting a high-scoring game – with plenty of attacking rugby.
"France is always a team that likes to play and so are we, so I think it's going to be a great game," Taylor told the SRU.
"With how we played in November and how France played then, it's going to be a great game.
"We are not daunted by going over to France; we are looking at it as a great opportunity.
"From what we can make out and with the stats, they are certainly playing a more expansive game than they have in the past.
"They have always got a strong scrum and they have a strong lineout drive, which we know about, but also they have got some really good backs.
"Teddy Thomas is a really good player; [Yoann] Huget on the wing is an exciting player; they have [Mathieu] Bastareaud – so they have strong carriers.
"But they are certainly trying to play a wider type of game and we will need to be shutting that down for us to have a chance of winning."
As well as victories over Tonga and Argentina in November, Cotter's troops will also take a lot of heart from their narrow defeat to world champions New Zealand.
And Taylor is confident his charges can continue that momentum in this year's Six Nations.
"I think in November we defended reasonably well," he added.
"We kept Tonga try-less, which is a really good achievement for any international team.
"New Zealand had two tries and for one of the best attacking teams in the world, that wasn't too bad. We stopped them playing in many regards.
"Against Argentina, unfortunately we took our foot of the gas defensively and we had a few discipline problems right at the end which allowed them to gain a couple of tries, which was disappointing. But overall we did a reasonably good job defensively."
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