Scotland Rugby

Scotland narrowly beat Argentina 21-19 to claim a hard-fought victory on South American soil. Duncan Weir kicked the decisive points late on, but there was still time for a dramatic finish.

Argentina fought themselves into drop-kick territory, but the kick was missed, and Scotland's comeback was preserved. The Scots had rallied from nine points down to inch their way inexorably into a two-point lead.

Increased power in the scrum was a decisive factor, as the Scotland Rugby Union Twitter page noted:

Earlier, the Scots found it hard to deal with Argentina's quick and intelligent play. The South American team were bright moving the ball forward.

They used one speedy exchange of passes to set Javier Ortega Desio free for their opening try. The nifty flanker completed a nice move with an angled run to score.

But after some positive, forward-thinking bursts from Argentina, Scotland began to stand firm. Their stubborn resistance coaxed the game into a mistake-prone period.

Once again, Argentina's performance hinged on attacking hub Nicolas Sanchez. He was at the heart of everything his nation did moving forward.

But Sanchez also had to be withdrawn after several knocks. He had struggled to stay on the field during the recent defeat to Ireland, and Argentina are not the same team without him.

Gradually, Scotland powered their way back into proceedings, with Tommy Seymour a driving force. The powerful wing took the example of full-back Stuart Hogg to batter Argentina with some strong running.

Seymour's inspiration soon brought Scottish players out of their shells. A booming kick from Weir made it 19-13 to begin the turnaround.

That penalty seemed to rouse the Scots, who began to play with more pace and fluency, as BBC Sport noted:

[The Scots were] struggling to put phases together, [but] a monster penalty from Weir brought them within six points with just under 10 minutes to play.

And sub Pyrgos reduced their arrears to a 19-18 when he ran over following fine work by De Luca and Seymour down the left. Weir, however, missed the chance to give his side the lead.

Weir may have botched one potential game-winner, but he didn't let the gaffe fester in his mind once he got another chance.

Afterward, Seymour, who had done more than anyone to help position Weir to win the game, indicated that national pride had carried his team through:

While Seymour showed modesty by downplaying his own skill, this win really did owe as much to graft and resilience as it did to dynamic ability. It's a happy knack that is making Scotland consistently difficult to break down.

Seymour's sentiments were echoed by coach Vern Cotter. He was sure to salute the hidden, emotional qualities, such as determination, that often make the difference:

Cotter will no doubt be delighted to stay unbeaten as Scotland's national team boss. While he experimented with his selection in Cordoba, he'll know that he has a tough and defiant group of players who don't surrender easily.

That's a good platform for any coach to begin shaping a feared team.

Scotland used forward-breaking quickness and natural power to boss a fairly dour game against the USA Eagles in Houston. The Scots won by a comfortable 24-6 scoreline, ensuring head coach Vern Cotter's first win.

For Cotter, the game was important in announcing his long-awaited arrival as the man who can revolutionize Scottish Rugby Union internationally. While he'll have been pleased to begin with a victory, Cotter won't be fooling himself about the scale of the job in front of him.

The match was played in front of a healthy crowd at Houston's BBVA Compass Stadium. The home fans were only treated to a pair of penalty kicks from Chris Wyles.

Yet the atmosphere remained buoyant, even if the action on the field didn't always merit it.

Suffocating heat played its part in stifling the flow of the play throughout the game. The conditions were a factor Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw was quick to highlight after the match, per Tom Dart of The Guardian: "That was tough, we’re not used to playing in heat like this. It was a dry night but the ball was slippy.”

The sluggish pace of the game was something USA Coach Mike Tolkin noted with disappointment in the aftermath, again per Dart:

I think the game tonight never really picked up any momentum, certainly not from our side but I think in general it was a very stop-start affair.

First half of the game we were too aggressive where we shouldn’t have been and got stupid penalties early on. We weren’t aggressive where we needed to be, and that was around the fringes of the ruck and off the defensive line, and overall we didn’t do a good enough job holding on to the ball.

The bottom line is we have to win those games because we had opportunities, I think we could have turned the momentum. Scotland said they were struggling with the heat. At times when we got some momentum inside their 22 they were breathing hard and they were struggling. More than just ‘hey we want to win those games and maybe we can’, we have to do the things to win it. Because we’re in positions to do it, and now we have to execute.

The Scots may have struggled with the temperature in Texas, but their overall power was enough to establish command early. In particular, winger Tim Visser impressed with several raiding bursts down the left.

His talent for sudden breaks gave the Scots a quick-strike ability the Eagles couldn't match. Visser was a consistent menace in Texas, and soon found enough space to really punish Tolkin's squad.

The Edinburgh Rugby ace helped himself to the game's first try. But it was Laidlaw who iced the game after ploughing over from short range.

The skipper had earlier booted a penalty for the game's first points, having already missed one kick. But the pattern of Scotland's advantage was clear, even if they didn't always maximize their superiority.

Although they remained in charge throughout, Scotland's overall performance wasn't exactly impressive. Efficiency with the ball was a real problem, as the Scottish Daily Record noted: "When it mattered, the Scots bossed the set-piece, but they butchered as many chances as they took and lost too many promising positions to handling mistakes."

Up 17-3 at the half, Cotter's team wasted the chance to show some real flair and confidence after the break, as Iain Morrison, writing for The Scotsman, pointed out:

The second half was an unholy mess with neither side was able to hold onto the ball long enough to exert any pressure on the opposition. Scotland had the better of what meagre chances were created but they turned over two set pieces, a scrum and a lineout inside the Eagles’ red zone. Wyles kicked his second penalty on 50 minutes to drag his side to within eleven points of the Scots but that was as close as they got and the entire third quarter of the match was pointless, in more ways than one.

Basic errors like the ones they showed in Houston are something Cotter is anxious to eradicate from Scotland's game, according to Dart: “We’ll come back to basics. We want to do the simple things well."

However, he will have been impressed with the scoring potential of players like Visser and full-back Stuart Hogg. With those two in the ranks, Cotter's team has the ammunition to trouble tougher opponents than the plucky Eagles squad they faced in Houston.

Hogg, along with Visser's fellow winger Sean Maitland, caused the Eagles consistent problems, according to the Scottish Daily Record. However, natural firepower aside, the Scots need to show more during Cotter's next games in charge.

Specifically, they need to match their forward potential with the calm authority to make it count. There were many more points to be had in Houston, but Cotter's group couldn't take them.

They won't be able to make those sort of mistakes when they battle South Africa on June 28th. Cotter must use his next two summer tour matches, against Canada and Argentina, to refine his team's forward verve.

As for the Eagles, Tolkin's team is currently long on will and guts, but painfully short of know-how. The more subtlety they can add to their game, the quicker the Eagles will show real improvement.

After their last-minute victory against Italy, the hosts will be hopeful of causing an upset against title-chasers France in Round 4.

The match at Murrayfield, set to take place on March 8, presents an affair that will see plenty of mauling as France look to keep pressure on their fellow title rivals.

But Scotland could have an important say on who lifts the 2014 Six Nations trophy with a win that could all but end France's ambitions.

Date	Time	Live Stream	TV Schedule	Prediction
March 8	5 p.m. GMT, 12 p.m. ET	BBC Sport app	BBC One	20-16

Position	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	PD	Points
1	Ireland	3	2	0	1	42	4
2	England	3	2	0	1	21	4
3	Wales	3	2	0	1	6	4
4	France	3	2	0	1	1	4
5	Scotland	3	1	0	2	-41	2
6	Italy	3	0	0	3	-29	0

Kelly Brown Recalled for Scotland

After his side's opening-day defeat by Ireland, 31-year-old Kelly Brown was dropped by head coach Scott Johnson.

The Saracens flanker missed the following two matches, as Scotland suffered defeat to England but picked up their first win of the tournament against Italy:

However, a match and pitch presents itself that suits Brown and, according to the Scotland boss, it's about time that was drafted back into his side.

Brown will also regain the captaincy from Greig Laidlaw for the match, having previously lost the armband after being dropped from the national set-up.

Speaking with BBC Sport staff, Johnson spoke of Brown's inclusion in his starting XV:

I think Saturday is a game that will really suit Kelly. Unlike other sides in the competition, France play above the ground a bit and there will be a lot of mauling. I've picked a side that can win the game.

However, Scotland will be without Ryan Wilson in the back row as he battles tonsillitis, meaning a start for David Denton as Johnson shuffles his starting pack:

The back-row change is slightly enforced as Ryan Wilson has not been well at the start of this week with a tonsillitis bug and it was important we were not hampered in our training, so Dents comes straight in.

Geoff did really well when he came on against Italy and it's right that he should start this week.

Scotland's maiden match at Murrayfield resulted in a 20-0 defeat by England, as the side struggled to make home advantage count in the second round.

It is set to be a different affair this time around, though, as the pressure is off for a Scottish side who know that victory could add a serious dent to France's title hopes.

For Brown, too, it provides an excellent chance to show just why Johnson was wrong to make him Scotland's scapegoat—and just why he deserves his place, and captaincy, in the national squad.

There's no doubt, too, that he'll be hoping for more moments of magic from Duncan Weir as the side look to make it two wins on the bounce.

Could Big Changes be to France's Detriment?

Sitting in fourth place, France sit tied with their title rivals on points scored, knowing that a win in Edinburgh would put them one step toward their fourth Grand Slam title in the Six Nations.

Les Blues' last trip outside of Paris will be lingering in the memories of Philippe Saint-Andre's men, as the side were heavily beaten 27-6 in Wales.

But the France coach has rung the changes ahead of the trip to Murrayfield, with seven alterations, per Daily Mail's Mike Dawes.

Saint-Andre's decision to drop Jean Marc Doussain to the bench in favour of Racing Metro's Maxime Machenaud comes as a surprise, following Doussain's three conversions and six successful penalty kicks in this year's tournament.

However, The Score.ie's Murray Kinsella tweeted that Doussain's scrum-half performances have been sub-standard and believes Machenaud's inclusion is a good move:

Injury has also forced the France coach's hand with Sebastien Vahaamahina replacing Yannick Nyanga, while Alexandre Lapandry comes in for Wenceslas Lauret.

Damien Chouly is also drafted into the side to replace Louis Picamoles, who was axed by Saint-Andre after sarcastically applauding referee Alain Rolland after the No. 8 was sin-binned in Cardiff.

But could making seven changes be to France's detriment?

Wholesale switches, although partially enforced, could see the side disrupted as they look to build momentum going into the final week.

The side have conceded seven tries so far in the tournament, with an all-new back row of Vahaamahina, Chouly and Lapandry tasked with keeping Scotland at bay.

Chouly's first start for his side in Six Nations action, per ESPN Scrum's StatsGuru, along with his 40 percent win rate while playing, adds cause for concern ahead of the trip to Scotland.

The Scots, following their emphatic last-gasp win in Italy, will be in full confidence of picking up their second successive win and will be pinpointing a weak French back line from the start.

Johnson's men know that their chances of winning this year's trophy are out the window, but with potential to make their tournament more respectable and with chances of causing an upset, his side will be well-drilled in France's weakest areas.

Seven changes could see more weaknesses appear, and with that, France's title hopes end.

Prediction: Scotland 20-16 France.

Head coach Scott Johnson has included Glasgow Warriors’ Mark Bennett, Jonny Gray and Chris Fusaro, as well as London Irish duo Kieran Low and Blair Cowan in Scotland's 41-man training squad for the Autumn rugby internationals.

Per the SRU, the quintet are handed their first calls, while veterans Ross Ford, Chris Cusiter and John Barclay have been recalled after missing the summer tour of South Africa through injury.

Backs Nick De Luca and Max Evans, meanwhile, also earn recalls as Johnson examines his options.

Johnson told the SRU website:

This squad is about getting the job right for our upcoming Test matches but it’s also about the next 24 months as we build towards Rugby World Cup 2015.

As I said during the tour we need and want to expand our playing pool and within that we have to be clear on which of our long-experienced players will make the journey to the World Cup.

We have to make sure, too, that our young players, who have the ability to play international footy, get the mileage on the clock ahead of the World Cup.

Both New Zealand-born flanker Cowan and England youth international Low qualify for Scotland via either parents or grandparents and will be evaluated by Johnson and his staff.

The coach also disclosed that Scotland A coach Shade Munro would join his coaching staff for the training camp, with a view to some players dropping into the second-string squad ahead of a fixture with England Saxons.

Wins over Italy and Ireland in the Six Nations helped Scotland to a creditable third place in the competition earlier this year—their best result since the competition's expansion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfY231onCBQ

However, summer defeats to Samoa, twice, and South Africa in the absence of their Lions players will have left Johnson in no doubt as to the need for increased depth ahead of coming Tests.

The Scots will play three Tests in the coming weeks against Japan (Nov. 9), South Africa (Nov. 17) and Australia (Nov. 23), with the minimum expectation a win against the Samurai Warriors in the first encounter.

If Scotland are to have any chance of a good performance at the World Cup in New Zealand in two years' time, they must start to achieve results against the Southern Hemisphere nations when playing at home.

Scotland Training Squad for Autumn Internationals

Backs

Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors), Chris Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors), Nick De Luca (Edinburgh Rugby), Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors), Max Evans (Castres), Tom Heathcote (Bath Rugby), Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors), Greig Laidlaw (Edinburgh Rugby), Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors), Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors), Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby), Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors), Duncan Taylor (Saracens), Greig Tonks (Edinburgh Rugby), Tim Visser (Edinburgh Rugby), Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors).
 

Forwards
 
John Barclay (Scarlets), John Beattie (Montpellier), Kelly Brown (Saracens), Blair Cowan (London Irish), Geoff Cross (Edinburgh Rugby), David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby), Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby), Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby), Chris Fusaro (Glasgow Warriors), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby), Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors), Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Richie Gray (Castres), Jim Hamilton (Montpellier), Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors), Alastair Kellock (Glasgow Warriors), Scott Lawson (Newcastle Falcons), Kieran Low (London Irish), Moray Low (Glasgow Warriors), Pat MacArthur (Glasgow Warriors), Euan Murray (Worcester Warriors), Alasdair Strokosch (Perpignan), Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors), Jon Welsh (Glasgow Warriors).
 

Invited to Train with Squad

Stuart McInally and Ross Rennie (both Edinburgh Rugby).

The damning revelations that came to light this week, courtesy of veteran Scotland winger Rory Lamont, were revealed amidst a flurry of troubling reports concerning player trauma in contact sports; many of which are beginning to cause increasing concern within the global rugby community.

Your humble correspondent was also in the middle of conducting in-depth research into player welfare in rugby when Lamont's comments in The Scotsman pierced the tragic silence that seems to cover these issues in the modern game.

I told them [medics and coaches] I couldn’t play and was looking at pulling myself out. I had done it once before, also against the All Blacks [in 2008], when I had a bad shoulder injury, but they disagreed and said it was in my head.

So I had medics in one ear, coaches in the other. I want to play more than anyone and my body’s saying ‘no, no, no ...’ Next day, I’m doing the warm-up at Murrayfield and the quad’s stiff, my head is all over the place. I’m looking at the crowds and thinking I shouldn’t be here.

I put it out of my mind and concentrate on my first job, to sprint from the kick-off and make the first tackle. The whistle goes, and I take off and, after about 15 metres, I feel something go ffffft in my thigh and the pain suddenly becomes excruciating.

So, I get it treated, let it ease and stay on until half-time. I did my best but I played like shit. I never missed a tackle, because I couldn’t get near them. We lost four tries and Mike Blair to injury. I told them at half-time ‘I can’t stay on’, and they weren’t happy. But I stayed off. We lose heavily, a coach asks me after the game if I have a mental issue with playing the All Blacks. I just shake my head.

These recollections from Lamont's time as a professional and with the Scottish national team help confirm the worst for many who had harboured suspicions about the dark side of player welfare at the elite level.

In many places, the thin veil that helps conceal such issues is sadly still very much intact.

In the same interview, Lamont also spoke about the tactics both teams and players use to defeat protocols around concussions.

I have suffered clean knockouts, real sleeping-on-the-floor episodes in a game, so I know the protocols inside out, the symptoms and recovery periods, and there is no way a player should be allowed to stay on the pitch after a head knock. It’s insanity. People might get annoyed with me saying this, but we are seeing reckless disregard for players’ welfare right now.

My own research into the issue was spurred by a pair a "light bulb moments" that helped focus my attention on the importance of player welfare—and specifically the issue of head trauma—in rugby.

In May of 2013. Rowan Stringer, a female teen-aged player from Ottawa, Canada, fell unconscious after a tackle in a match with her high school team.

She never woke up.

Following her death, details emerged that she may not have fully recovered from a previous head injury suffered in the weeks before.

Canada's rugby community came together in grief and support, but sadly, Rowan's story is far from unique.

Malcom Gladwell, a columnist for the New Yorker who is responsible for such groundbreaking books as Outliers and The Tipping Point, recently conducted a media blitz aimed at drawing attention to the dangers posed by head trauma in contact sports; specifically American football. 

The most fiery and controversial speech in this tour was made in his appearance at Penn State University, where he spoke passionately about the recent death of Owen Thomas, the former captain of the Penn State football team.

While Thomas' death, and the subsequent brain diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), may have been the most emotional of moments in Gladwell's speech, there was another that was perhaps even more valuable.

In his introduction, Gladwell took his university audience back to the days of American coal mines in the early 20th century, and to the brave early efforts to shed light on the terrible health risks being imposed on those who worked there.

Gladwell draws an eerie comparison between the efforts to defeat those warnings, and what is being done to blur the lines around head trauma and CTE in sport today.

The comments of a player like Rory Lamont, who has seen the modern game from every possible angle, should surely be enough to spur a renewed conversation in rugby circles.

This article is the first of what I hope will be a number of features that will attempt to dive into the troubling issues around player welfare in rugby. For if more is not done to improve the situation for today's players, rugby could soon find itself alongside American football as a sport fast losing support among a new generation of parents and young families.

Everywhere there are canaries singing loudly, still others lie dead before us.

It's time to heed their warnings and step out of the dark.

Click here for Part Two of this series

Click here for Part Three of this series

Click here for our Player Welfare Update

Jeff Hull is the Featured Rugby Columnist for Bleacher Report.

To follow the author on Twitter, click on the link below.

Follow @RugbyScribe

Ross Rennie's facial expression in postgame interviews said it all. Man of the match in a hard-fought defeat to France, Rennie simply looked stunned. He wasn't the only one as the crowd's collective head hung low.

"We put another massive effort in," the steadfast open-side flanker lamented. "To come away with nothing, I think everyone is probably down."

Despite two difficult losses to open the 2012 Six Nations championship, this one seems harder to swallow. With so much promise and expectation, Andy Robinson's Scottish side opened the match with the brilliant early try that resulted from a great decision by the No. 10, Greig Laidlaw, to switch the ball that eventually found the 19-year-old sensation, Stuart Hogg, for the diving score.

A penalty put Scotland up 10-0 after their most complete 20 minutes of rugby in months. France proved resilient and stormed back to tie the encounter at 10-10 after a perfect penalty strike from Morgan Parra.

Level at the half, Murrayfield surged with excitement as Scotland looked finally looked to be playing to their potential.

An impressive series of driving efforts from the French No. 8, Louis Picamoles, led to another Parra kick, giving the visitors their first lead.

Replacement Richie Vernon galvanized the Scottish attack after coming on for Scotland stalwart David Denton, and a wonderful series of passes led to a Lee Jones try that wrenched the lead back for his team.

But missed tackles plagued the Scottish defence all game and ultimately lost the contest as Maxime Medard shattered Scotland's upset dreams on a try that was aided by poor wrap-ups from several Scottish players.

Down 20-17, Scotland conceded a late drop goal to Lionel Beauxis that sealed their fate.

Injuries to key players also contributed to the loss. Winger Rory Lamont was forced down awkwardly on a tackle in the second half and was carted off of the field on a stretcher with a broken leg. Virtually around the same point in the match, Laidlaw suffered a concussion and Mike Blair limped off the pitch with a dead leg.

Missing three key starters seemed to take the air out of the Scottish sails.

Left to regroup, Scotland will have to continue their quest for a Six Nations victory without the services of Lamont, who underwent surgery today, and Alasdair Strokosch, who sustained a broken hand two weeks ago against Wales. 

Although it will not come as a shock to anyone interested in Scottish rugby, coach Andy Robinson has chosen teenage sensation Stuart Hogg for his first XV this weekend against France.

After an electrifying performance against England Saxons for Scotland A, Hogg was promoted to the senior roster for the Wales test match two weeks ago. Hogg was a valuable attacker in Millennium Stadium and will get his first chance to start at fullback against France.

John Barclay, a member of the Glasgow Warriors' 'Killer B's,' will replace the injured Alasdair Strokosch after the blindside flanker suffered a broken hand in the Wales contest.

In a somewhat surprising move, Robinson opted to shake things up in the midfield in an attempt to galvanize a Scottish attack that has proved largely stagnant in the team's opening Six Nations matches. Replacing Edinburgh center Nick De Luca is Sean Lamont. De Luca has faced significant criticism this week after a costly trip to the sin-bin against Wales.

Joining Lamont is Mike Blair, who takes over scrum-half duties from Chris Cusiter. Blair and Cusiter had been fighting for the No. 9 jersey for some time, and many thought Blair would be the first choice in the Wales match since his professional teammate, Greig Laidlaw, donned No. 10 for the first time.

Sean Lamont's move to the outside center position paved the way for Graeme Morrison to reclaim his position on the inside for the first time since last year's World Cup.

David Denton, one of the major bright spots for Scotland throughout the Six Nations tournament, lines up in his traditional No. 8 position, and Geoff Cross fills in for Euan Murray at the tighthead prop, who declines to play on Sundays due to his Christian faith.

Conspicuously absent from the squad is the now-healthy Ruaridh Jackson. The 24-year-old started at the No. 10 for Scotland in the World Cup, and it was assumed that he would rejoin the team after recovering from a hamstring injury. Robinson has instead chosen to stick with youngster Duncan Weir as Laidlaw's understudy for at least one more match.

Looking ahead to France this Sunday, Robinson said that lineouts and scrums would be key to beating France. 

The reserved coach said yesterday, "They destroyed us in the scrum last year. They completely dominated us because we scrummaged as individuals. We have to scrummage collectively as an eight-man operation, while the lineout is an area France will go to if they cannot get their game going."

Robinson and the rest of Scotland hope that the personnel changes will be the catalyst that fuels a rejuvenated attack on Sunday.

Full Lineup

15 Stuart Hogg 1 Allan Jacobsen

14 Rory Lamont 2 Ross Ford

13 Sean Lamont 3 Geoff Cross

12 Graeme Morrison 4 Richie Gray

11 Lee Jones 5 Jim Hamilton

10 Greig Laidlaw 6 John Barclay

9 Mike Blair 7 Ross Rennie

8 David Denton

Replacements

16 Scott Lawson

17 Ed Kalman

18 Alastair Kellock

19 Richie Vernon

20 Chris Cusiter

21 Duncan Weir

22 Nick De Luca

France's head coach Phillipe Saint-Andre announced his first XV today for this weekend's match at Murraryfield and, as expected, made no changes to the side that trounced Italy in its opening Six Nations contest.

Now that Saint-Andre has officially revealed his hand, Scotland boss Andy Robinson has a few decisions to make that could directly influence the outcome of the match.

Did Greig Laidlaw's performance in Cardiff earn him another start the the Number 10? Should Mike Blair start at scrum-half? And what about Ruaridh Jackson's return from injury?

When Robinson releases his lineup tomorrow, his choices could also reveal what kind of rugby his team will play.

With Max Evans nursing an ankle injury, it is assumed that Galsgow-phenom Stuart Hogg will earn his first Test start. Hogg injected a burst of energy into the Scottish attack against Wales and was denied a debut try by a wrongful knock-on call.

With Hogg at full-back, it is hoped that Lee Jones and Rory Lamont will provide the pace on the wings that can destabilize the French defence.

Neil McIlroy, coach of Clermont Auvergne in the French Top 14 and native of Scotland, spoke to The Scotsman yesterday and identified speed as the key to a Scottish upset. 

"The Scots' three-quarters work hard individually but as a unit the French will look the take them on," he said. "The key will be how Scotland rise to that challenge against players like Wesley Fofana."

McIlroy also stressed the importance of Greig Laidlaw to the Scottish game plan. Having played with Laidlaw's father and uncle professionally with Jed-Forrest, McIlroy intimately understands Laidlaw's strengths.

"If Scotland can get quick ball, I'd back Greig to use it wisely," the former Scottish pro said. 

Laidlaw certainly holds the advantage over Scotland's World Cup Number 10, Ruaridh Jackson, for the moment after his courageous try and overall solid play at the Millennium Stadium, but in his first two matches with Glasgow Warriors after his hamstring injury, the 24-year-old has shown flashes of his former self.

Robinson will need to decide between Duncan Weir and Jackson as Laidlaw's potential understudy.

Geoff Cross will again replace Euan Murray as tight head prop as the latter does not play on Sundays due to religious belief.

Ed Kalman, who earned his first cap against Wales, has been rehabbing a sore neck since the defeat two weeks ago and appears ready to provide depth for either prop. 

Whichever side Robinson chooses to send out on Sunday, his team will be supported by a sell-out crowd at Murrayfield. Still, the French have enjoyed recent success in the Scottish home stadium, winning 18-9 in their 2010 Six Nations matchup.

Scotland failed to score a try in that contest. With 67,000 behind them, it will be on the players's shoulders to produce the tries it will take to knock off a talented and experienced French side.