The pyrotechnics of 19 minutes of free-running rugby brought Scotland’s last triumph in Paris in 1999. But if the drought in the Stade de France is to end today then it’s only likely to be achieved by Andy Robinson’s preferred route-one point, at least, better than the opposition.
Five tries in that 19-minute spell in Scotland’s first visit to the gargantuan Stade will probably never again be approached in Scotland’s history and even for those who were there, it is still barely believable, like the memory is playing tricks.
The chances of today’s Scotland scoring five tries in a championship, let alone 19 minutes, is pushing it a bit they only scored three in all of last year’s.
The men in dark blue do a different sort of entertainment these days, but it produces as many notches in the win column as at any time since the 1999 team the last to win the RBS Six (then just Five) Nations.
If Scotland are competitive in a game under Robinson, it is an edge-of-the-seat experience not because it’s a glorious try-fest but because it’s always going to be nail-bitingly close.
The head coach chided an interviewer in the final press conference in the plush team hotel in central Paris (a Dan Parks punt away from L’Opera) for again asking if he was troubled if his team didn’t score many tries.
Robinson said, “You ask that question every time and the answer is the same every time.
“So long as we score more points than the other team, I don’t care how we do it.”
Robinson expects optimum performance from his charges in every game because he realises that is the only way this Scotland team, without the game-breaking abilities of many of their rivals, win games.
He said, “Every game we’ve played is hard work, you’ve all been there and seen the work that’s gone into it, we’ve been handed nothing on a plate.
“We’ve talked up this week getting up in their faces, toe to toe with them.”
He added, “If you stand back and watch, you’re guaranteed a tough day in the office. We have to get stuck in.”Australian motivatorThe five wins from six games record has boosted the self-confidence of the Scots, but they know what was required then and what will be required this evening.
Robinson said, “We have to be at our very best to win this game, individually and collectively.
“It’s now down to performance, guys understanding their roles, going out and delivering.”
In France the public view of the national team, whether optimistic or pessimistic, tends to have the lifespan of a mayfly taking wing and then expiring within a few short hours.
But there is no question that head coach Marc Lievremont’s reputation is on the line, even with the Rugby World Cup on the horizon and a change at the top surely unthinkable at such a late stage.
The coach’s penchant for experimentation is well known, with today’s centre duo of Maxime Mermoz and Aurelien Rougerie the 18th in his four-year tenure.
The papers here are full of talk of “les demon australien” the aftershocks of France’s epochal collapse in their last test in November to a humiliating 59-16 loss to a Wallaby team thought to be demoralised and exhausted.
Some, even though Lievremont piloted the team to a ninth Grand Slam in last year’s Six Nations, would have had the ex-international back-rower sacked after that game, but Robinson believes that France will rebound much the way his team did in November.
Robinson said, “You just have to look at the response we had after New Zealand rugby teams are able to do that.
“We expect a well-prepared, well-coached team that is confident after so many of their teams qualified for the quarter-finals in Europe. They’ll have a lot of belief.”
As for the changing centres, Robinson poked some fun at himself and his tenure as England head coach, when he was often criticised over selection.
He said, “I can sympathise, I’ve been there. It happens injuries, lack of form, looking for balances between guys, and young players coming through.
“It’s still an opportunity for the two guys playing, as it is for Nick (De Luca) and Joe (Ansbro) for us.”
So if Scotland are to continue this outstanding form on the road they’ve been in the game all five times away from Murrayfield under Robinson it’ll be a close-run thing.
The Scots simply don’t do the performance that made the second half a coast in 1999, when only three further points were scored but the all-time points record against France was set.
Also, if France top 21 points, Scotland probably aren’t winning this game this being the defensive target Robinson sets for his team in every contest.
The need to keep France within range is vital, which means parity in the set-piece.
The lineout is Scotland’s strength, but also one of France’s.
The scrummage is another French weapon some might say obsession with their club teams exchanging more back-slaps and hugs for successful pushes than tries these days.Parks’ importanceRobinson discussed his experienced front row of Allan Jacobsen, Ross Ford and Euan Murray, adding, “They’re quality players and we’re looking to be legal in the way we scrummage.”
Does that suggest he thinks French teams don’t scrummage legally? “You read into that what you want,” he said.
Set-piece parity is key for stand-off Dan Parks to probe the touchlines and control the territory battle, which Scotland simply cannot win without.
Outside Parks Scotland have often looked like a bunch of practice tackle dummies, with only two tries from backs in the 10 tests of 2010.
De Luca and Ansbro are as untried as their French counterparts and their defence will be the more important element.
Yet both can create space, and Max Evans is surely on orders to come off his wing when Scotland have the ball to try to break defences populated by the slower and bigger French forwards.
No-one in the Scotland squad will talk beyond this game but they must know the possibilities if they upset that French record lasting to 1999 with three winnable home fixtures at least a share of the championship for the first time for 12 years is attainable.
France might be vulnerable, and they might be unstoppable nobody can tell for sure until the smoke from the pre-match fireworks clears.
The longer Scotland can keep this game close, the better for them it will be.