Preview: France v Scotland
Both teams won their previous encounters with France trumping England 25-20 and Scotland obliterating Italy 48-7 at Murrayfield.
However, history certainly favours France having only lost to Scotland twice in the last 21 clashes they have had.
Le Bleus have been boosted by the return of their leader Thierry Dusautoir who has been sidelined for the past two warm-up games through injury but coach Philippe Saint-Andre was eager to get him back on the field with the World Cup looming around the corner.
"He is in top form and he is important for us. He has prepared himself well for this match," Saint-Andre said.
The only other change to France sees lock Yoann Maestri rested to fully recover from bruised ribs with his place going to Alexandre Flanquart.
According to the French Mentor the team that runs out at Stade de France is a strong indication of their first choice side that will take on Italy in their first game at the World Cup in September.
"This team could very well be like the one that will take on Italy," Saint-Andre added.
All eyes are on flank John Hardie in the Scottish team after he was controversially included in coach Vern Cotter's 31-man World Cup squad.
Hardie, 27, qualified for Scotland through his Fife-born grandparents, only arrived on Scottish soil for the first time five weeks ago and has played less than an hour of Test rugby.
His inclusion was labelled a disgrace to Scottish-born players by former Scotland and British and Irish Lions prop Peter Wright.
He is currently without a club after leaving New Zealand's Highlanders and will now be in the spotlight when Kiwi coach Cotter's side face France ahead of their World Cup opener against Japan in Gloucester.
Hardie was one of five changes to Cotter's outfit that thrashed Italy just last weekend.
Sean Maitland and Tommy Seymour are back from suffering a shoulder injury and back trouble respectively while centre Matt Scott starts alongside Mark Bennett in place of Peter Horne while.
Up front, Richie Gray starts at lock alongside brother Jonny in place of Grant Gilchrist.
"France are a very powerful and skilful side so this match will provide another good assessment for this group, and another valuable insight into where we are at as a squad," Cotter said.
Players to watch:
For France: The return of the 2011 World Rugby Player of the Year Thierry Dusautoir will bring much needed leadership and muscle to the pack and hopefully get France on the front foot to release the Toulon halfback pairing of Sébastien Tillous-Borde and Frédéric Michalak. Watch out for Michalak's usual trickery and nifty skills and he will certainly direct France over the advantage line with the likes of Toulon teammate Mathieu Bastareaud in the midfield.
For Scotland: Look no further than the outside backs where New-Zealand born Sean Maitland occupies the fullback position and the Flying Dutchman Tim Visser is right next to him on the wing. In the pack there is power in the loose forwards and David Denton will be working hard with controversial inclusion John Hardy to secure Scotland retain possession. Then there is the brothers to look out for in the engine room – Jonny and Richie Gray are two masterminds in the line-outs and not shy of a bull carry or two.
Head to head: There will be a monumental battle at the breakdown where Thierry Dusautoir and Damien Chouly will face off against John Hardie and Ryan Wilson to secure ball and try disrupt their opponents. In the backline Tim Visser man-marking against fleet-footed Yoann Huget should be an interesting tussle. However the spotlight will be on the two pivots, where youngster Finn Russell is taking on the mercurial Frédéric Michalak as they both try to ignite the backline.
Recent results:
2015: France won 15-8 in Paris
2014: France won 19-17 in Edinburgh
2013: France won 23-16 Paris
2012: France won 23-17 in Edinburgh
2011: France won 34-21 in Paris
2010: France won 18-9 in Edinburgh
2009: France won 22-13 in Paris
2008: France won 27-6 in Edinburgh
2007: France won 46-19 in Paris
2006: Scotland won 20-16 in Edinburgh
Prediction: The strongest French team fielded so far, plus they have not lost to Scotland in Paris since April 1999, however we smell an upset on the cards… Scotland by 5.
Teams:
France: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Sébastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Damien Chouly, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 5 Alexandre Flanquart, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Eddy Ben Arous.
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Nicolas Mas, 19 Bernard le Roux, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Morgan Parra, 22 Rémi Talès, 23 Alexandre Dumoulin.
Scotland: 15 Sean Maitland, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (captain), 8 David Denton, 7 John Hardie, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Alasdair Strokosch, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Sean Lamont.
Date: Saturday, September 5
Venue: Stade de France, Paris
Kick-off: 21:00 (19:00 GMT)
Expected weather: A mild 18 Degrees with some clouds, rain should stay away.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: JP Doyle (England), Luke Pearce (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
