Jim Hamilton set on giving Scotland fans a treat

Jim Hamilton in action against France in the last Murrayfield encounter. Picture: Ian Rutherford

Scotland did bounce back from their demoralising 20-0 whitewash against the Auld Enemy a fortnight before to snatch a dramatic 21-20 victory over Italy at the weekend.

The display in Rome was a big step forward from the performance of Scott Johnson’s misfiring side on their last home appearance and, along with France’s sub-standard outing in their 27-6 defeat to Wales on Friday night, has raised hopes of another Scotland win on Saturday week.

And Montpellier lock Hamilton, who was key in a vastly-improved line-out and forward performance against the Azzurri, knows the Scots need to give their home fans something to shout about against the French.

Speaking to ScottishRugby TV, the 31-year-old said: “We were under pressure the last two weeks and to get a win, the first win [in Rome] since 2006, just shows the belief we’ve got in this group.

“We want to go back to Murrayfield against a very tough French team in a couple of weeks and put in a great performance for our supporters.”

Meanwhile, Scotland are expected to discover today whether they could be facing France scrum-half Morgan Parra in the Murrayfield clash.

The Clermont player appeared at a disciplinary hearing in Paris yesterday, which had been brought forward from 12 March at his request, after he was red-carded for head-butting Montpellier’s Rene Ranger in a French Top-14 clash on Saturday. Although awaiting any possible punishment, the 25-year-old has been drafted back into Philippe Saint-Andre’s France squad for the trip to Edinburgh after missing the first three Six Nations matches through injury.