Antoine Dupont threat laid bare as Scotland return to scene of World Cup success and heartbreak

There is a lot of Scottish sporting history wrapped up in Saint-Etienne, the industrial city in the Massif Central where Gregor Townsend’s team will face France on Saturday evening.

It was there in 2007 that Frank Hadden’s Scotland squeezed past Italy with six Dan Parks penalties to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup, having earlier defeated Portugal at the same ground. It was also where Craig Brown’s Scotland unravelled at the football World Cup in 1998, losing heavily to Morocco in a match which saw Craig Burley sent off. AS Saint-Etienne, the club side, dominated French football in the 1960s and 1970s and reached the European Cup final in Glasgow in 1976 where they lost to Bayern Munich. Les Verts (‘the Greens’) struck the woodwork twice during the game and blamed Hampden’s thick, square goalposts for the 1-0 defeat. They claimed that had the posts been round, the ball would have gone in. In 1987, FIFA banned non-rounded goalposts from being used – too late for Saint-Etienne, who, 26 years later, bought the posts from the Scottish Football Association and put them on display in their club museum, a permanent reminder of what might have been.

Townsend’s side will seek to avoid such misfortune this weekend as they bid to continue their preparations for the World Cup which gets under way in France in under a month’s time. In terms of Hadden’s side, reaching the last eight in 2007 felt like the bare minimum for Scotland who had never previously failed to make it out of the group stage. Sixteen years later, such an achievement would be celebrated like a trophy given the scale of the task facing the current team. Drawn in Pool B alongside South Africa, Ireland, Tonga and Romania, long odds are available on Townsend’s side to finish in the top two.

The coach has taken his squad to Saint-Etienne to face the World Cup hosts in an attempt to get them battle-ready for their tournament opener against the Springboks in Marseille on September 10. Scotland have already beaten Italy and a second-string French side this summer but Saturday night’s game at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard represents a significant step up in class as Fabien Galthie unleashes his full-strength team of aristocrats led by the peerless Antione Dupont.

Antoine Dupont in action for France against Scotland during the Six Nations match at the Stade de France in February. The scrum-half has the ability to kick off either foot. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Ben White, the injured Scotland scrum-half, was invited last week to explain why Dupont was the best in the world in his position and offered an astute insight. “It’s the speed he plays at, the variety he has in his game – he kicks off both feet, passes well and he’s confrontational,” said White, who is moving to France next season to play for Toulon. “He’s not afraid to carry and he’s not afraid to fly out the line and tackle people. I guess it’s that variety in his game that he is able to pull on at different times which he has gained through experience. Some games he might not run that much but he’ll kick extremely well to put France in great positions on the park, some games when it opens up and is loose, he can just ignite the game and create something out of nothing. He’s been that real connection within that French team, the power they have in that pack when they go to this tight pick-and-go game, then all of a sudden he’ll just bounce out of it – like the try he scored in the Top 14 final, [against La Rochelle], when Toulouse were nice and tight then he just bounces out and feeds [Romain] Ntamack on a lovely outside pass and the next minute they’ve won the cup.”

Townsend knows how dangerous Dupont can be and spoke this week of his ability to bring France’s forwards into the game. The coach is wary about the Scotland defence becoming too narrow, giving France space out wide, something that happened during the match between the sides at Murrayfield. Townsend bristled slightly when it was put to him that Scotland need to start better than they did last week but he did acknowledge that his side needed to be more physical in the period when France scored their first two tries. The home side conceded a third just before half-time and went in at the turn 21-3 down. They showed admirable composure and ability to turn it around and win 25-21 but Townsend knows his side can’t afford an opening 40 in Saint-Etienne like the one they endured in Edinburgh

This is Scotland’s last game before Townsend announces his World Cup squad on Wednesday and it’s a chance for those on the fringes to make one last push. Each member of the starting XV in Saint-Etienne looks nailed on for a place in the 33-man squad but it will be a closer call for those on the bench. Stuart McInally, aiming for one final hurrah before swapping rugby for a new career as a pilot, is likely to replace George Turner in the second half. Turner, Scotland’s first-choice hooker, is as good as selected and Townsend will have to decide which two from McInally, Ewan Ashman and Dave Cherry join him. Javan Sebastian looks to be in a straight fight with Murphy Walker to be third choice tighthead and the fact that it is Sebastian on the bench suggests he is in the box seat. Josh Bayliss scored a try when he came on against Italy but was not in Townsend’s original World Cup training squad and was called in only when Andy Christie withdraw through injury. Bayliss is one of seven back-rowers in the squad and would seem the one most likely to be cut unless he comes on does something special against France. George Horne gets another chance from the bench on Saturday and should cement his place at the expense of Jamie Dobie.

Selection issues aside, this game is likely to provide the best indication yet of Scotland’s readiness to take on the world’s best. South Africa and Ireland are two teams they have never beaten during Townsend’s reign but a positive performance in Saint-Etienne would offer hope that Scotland can go and do something remarkable when the World Cup kicks off next month.

Jason White, Scotland captain at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, celebrates the win over Italy at Stade Geoffroy Guichard in Saint-Etienne which secured the team's place in the quarter-finals. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Scotland v France: Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint Etienne, Saturday, 8.05pm BST. TV: live on Prime Video

Scotland: 15. Blair Kinghorn; 14. Kyle Steyn, 13. Huw Jones, 12. Sione Tuipulotu, 11. Duhan van der Merwe; 10. Finn Russell, 9. Ali Price; 1. Pierre Schoeman, 2. George Turner, 3. WP Nel, 4. Richie Gray, 5. Grant Gilchrist, 6. Jamie Ritchie (capt), 7. Rory Darge, 8. Jack Dempsey. Replacements: 16. Stuart McInally, 17. Rory Sutherland, 18. Javan Sebastian, 19. Scott Cummings, 20. Sam Skinner, 21. Josh Bayliss, 22. George Horne, 23. Ollie Smith.

France: 15. Thomas Ramos; 14. Damian Penaud, 13. Gael Fickou, 12. Jonathan Danty, 11. Gabin Villiere; 10. Romain Ntamack, 9. Antoine Dupont (capt); 1. Cyril Baille, 2. Julien Marchand, 3. Dorian Aldegheri, 4. Cameron Woki, 5. Thibaud Flament, 6. Paul Boudehent, 7. Charles Ollivon, 8. Gregory Alldritt. Replacements: 16. Pierre Bourgarit, 17. Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18. Uini Atonio, 19. Florian Verhaeghe, 20. Bastien Chalureau, 21. Sekou Macalou, 22. Maxime Lucu, 23. Louis Bielle-Biarrey.

Referee: Nic Berry (South Africa).