THINK, for a minute, back over the great moments in recent Scottish rugby.
If you take out the 1990 Grand Slam and the Calcutta Cup matches, virtually all the rest have come against France. Whether it's the Toony Flip in 1995, Jim Calder's finale to the 1984 Grand Slam decider at Murrayfield or a rampant Scotland cutting Le
s Bleus to ribbons as they racked up five tries before half-time on their first visit to the Stade de France in 1999, Scotland against France has a glorious, golden history.
When your mind's eye conjures up the finest tries scored by – or against – Scotland, the chances are that most of them will come from this fixture. Think Gavin Hastings in 1995, or even Emile Ntamack's heartbreaking last-minute winner in that year's World Cup. Two of the best tries ever scored at Murrayfield – Ally McHarg's 20-pass epic in 1974 and the Andy Irvine try in 1980 that capped the most remarkable comeback in Scottish rugby history after the full-back was booed by Scotland's fans at half-time – were scored against France.
If Scotland against Italy has established itself as the worst international fixture in world rugby, Scotland against France has long been one of the best. If the pitch holds up and the snow holds off, today's game between two sides chosen with running endeavour in mind has the makings of yet another Caledonian-Gallic classic.
The relationship between the French and the Scots has been a mutual love-in for a little over 700 years, since the Auld Alliance was signed in 1295, and the rugby between the two nations has reflected that spirit. Tough and uncompromising, it has never been tainted with the win-at-all-costs attitude that characterises matches between England and France. In recent years, the relationship between the two countries has grown even closer as a trail of Scots have headed southwards. Nathan Hines, Simon Taylor, Chris Cusiter, Marcus Di Rollo and Scott Murray are all plying their trade across the Channel, following in the footsteps of Gregor Townsend, Tom Smith, Bryan Redpath and a whole host of other Scots internationalists.
"After we beat them in 1995, 1996 and then 1999, there was a real vogue for Scottish players," recalls Townsend. "I was at Brive in 1999, and as soon as I got back to the club they sat me down and said they wanted five Scottish players. Only Tom Smith and Steve Brotherstone came in the end, but they both had an amazing time because the French love the Scots. There's a real affinity there.
"For me, that affinity is reciprocated because some of the best times I've had in a Scotland shirt have been against France. There were 7,000 Scots in Paris in 1995 and I reckon I've met every one of them since; everyone remembers that game. And I've never seen a Scotland team play as well as we did in 1999. For 40 minutes we were in the zone: everything went right, and we were throwing big passes or offloading in the tackle, but the ball always went to hand. That half of rugby had a dream-like quality to it."
In legendary stand-off John Rutherford's playing days, Scotland were always favourites at Murrayfield and underdogs in Paris. For almost two decades Scotland won by the odd try in Edinburgh; for over quarter of a century, France did the same in Paris. Home advantage, says Rutherford, "was always worth a try", and that was generally the difference. Until Townsend and Hastings combined so memorably at the death in 1995, Scotland hadn't beaten the French in Paris for 28 years. Similarly, Scotland beat France in every Murrayfield match between 1978 and 1994.
"It's such a great fixture because you've generally had two teams wanting to play positive rugby," says Rutherford, who played France nine times. "Over in Paris, you've got the weather and the conditions to play running rugby, which is what the French have done against us as I found out on my first cap in 1979 when they ran in three tries against us. That was one of the best games I ever played in."
Particularly before the game went professional in 1995 and club teams from France and Scotland virtually never met each other, the old truism about le rugby des cloches held true. The French were less bothered about losing away from home, but at home – within hearing of les cloches, the bells of the village church – their ingrained rugby culture provided them with a desperation to defend their patch, to not be beaten on home soil.
The inevitability of French defeat at Murrayfield and of Scottish woe in Paris had a profound impact on the mindset of players. They went with the attitude that they were on a hiding to nothing, so they played with the abandon of teams that had nothing to lose. As Rutherford says, "matches in Paris were fearsomely physical, so we would just go there and try to move the ball quickly, to give it a lash. At Murrayfield, we always thought we could win – would win – mainly because we didn't realise how good they were, with fantastic players like Jean-Pierre Rives, Serge Blanco, Philippe Sella, Jermone Gallion and Pierre Berbizier. So many French teams packed with genuine world-class players have been beaten in Edinburgh."
Townsend says the relationship between the two nations also affected the way the games unfolded. "The French like and respect the Scots, and they don't mind losing to us in the same way they mind losing to England. In fact, when we beat them at Murrayfield in 1996, playing attacking rugby with a team of virtual unknowns, their coach Jean-Claude Skrela said we played rugby the way it should be and that it was an honour to have been beaten by a team playing such attractive rugby.
"French club rugby is attritional. It's all about power and brute force, but when it comes to their national team, the French public demands their team play with passion and flair. Because of that they try to cut loose when they can, while because we have had smaller forwards than them we have tended to play a fast game based around quick rucking and moving the ball away from contact as soon as possible. Put it all together and that makes for open running rugby and some classic encounters."
FIVE FAMOUS SCOTTISH WINS OVER FRANCE1984: Scotland 21 France 12 (Murrayfield)
France's inspirational scrum-half Jerome Gallion went off before half-time after a clash of heads. Jim Calder's late snaffled try finally sealed a pulsating match and handed Scotland their first Grand Slam since 1925.
1990: Scotland 21 France 0 (Murrayfield)
Against a French side of all the talents, Scotland were immense. Iwan Tukalo and Finlay Calder scored the two tries for David Sole's Grand Slam-destined side.
1995: France 21, Scotland 23 (Parc des Princes)
With glorious failure beckoning once again, Scotland's forwards won the ball on the left and standoff Gregor Townsend took on the French three-quarters, committing two men before his sleight of hand and perfect timing released Gavin Hastings to run under the posts.
1999: France 22 Scotland 36 (Stade de France)
Gregor Townsend was in coruscating form, while Martin Leslie and Alan Tait both claimed a brace of tries each. Scotland scored five tries before half-time, which arrived with the visitors leading 33-22.
2006: Scotland 20 France 16 (Murrayfield)
With new skipper Jason White leading from the front and a try in each half from Sean Lamont, Scotland's gritty defence was enough to win the day.
The full article contains 1284 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
