Autumn Nations Series | What are the teams for France v Scotland in the Summer Nations Series?

by Autumn Nations Series

Scotland travel to Saint Etienne looking for a third Summer Nations Series victory in a row, as they face France on Saturday.

Gregor Townsend’s side ran out 25-21 winners at Scottish Gas Murrayfield against a youthful French side, with Fabien Galthié handing plenty of opportunities to new faces.

But Galthié has named a far more experienced side for the reverse fixture on home soil, with stars such as Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack, and Damian Penaud all returning.

Meanwhile for Scotland it is a case of shuffling the pack, with Townsend managing minutes and fitness with the Rugby World Cup now less than a month away.

Gabin Villière est enfin 𝗱𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿 avec @FranceRugby ce week-end 🙌🇫🇷#SummerNationsSeries☀️ | #FRASCO pic.twitter.com/tKyCUvs3je

— Summer Nations Series (@autumnnations) August 10, 2023

France Team News

Antoine Dupont leads the list of star names that return to the French fold for the visit of Scotland on Saturday.

Dupont captains the side from scrum-half, where he will resume his regular half-back pairing with Romain Ntamack.

Jonathan Danty and Gaël Fickou line up inside them at centre, with Gabin Villière, Damian Penaud, and Thomas Ramos completing the back line.

Ahead of them, Julien Marchand is in at hooker, with Cyril Baille and Dorian Aldegheri either side of him in an all-Toulouse front row.

Clubmate Thibaud Flament packs down behind them alongside Cameron Woki, with Paul Boudehent, Charles Ollivon, and Gregory Alldritt making up the back row.

🇫🇷⚡🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Voici 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐞́𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐩𝐞 pour affronter l’Écosse dans ce deuxième match des Summer Nations Series.

🔜 Rendez-vous à Saint-Etienne samedi à 21h05 💪

📺 @TF1 #UnisPourUnRêve #XVdeFrance pic.twitter.com/5EkiTXg1kG

— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) August 10, 2023

On the bench, Louis Bielle-Biarrey could get another chance to shine after impressing in last week’s match-up with Maxime Lucu the only other back amongst the replacements.

They are joined by Uini Antonio, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Pierre Bourgarit, Florian Verhaeghe, Bastien Chalureau, and Sekou Macalou.

France XV to face Scotland

15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Gabin Villière, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont; 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 Antonio, 19 Florian Verhaeghe, 20 Bastien Chalureau, 21 Sekou Macalou, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Louis Bielle-Biarrey

🏉 @sageuk Play of the week

💪 Finn Russell catches the pass with a 0.7 second reload time

🎯 Cross-field kick soars 24.8m with a 1.95s hang time and 44.6kph through the air to find Darcy Graham in the corner who scores 🙌#SageInsights 📊 pic.twitter.com/ZhO4utEZkU

— Summer Nations Series (@autumnnations) August 5, 2023

Scotland Team News

Gregor Townsend has made just six changes to the side that left Edinburgh victorious, with captain Jamie Ritchie returning to the side.

He is joined in the back row by Rory Darge and Jack Dempsey, while Richie Gray and Grant Gilchrist continue in the second row.

Pierre Schoeman is the only survivor in the front row, where he is joined by hooker George Turner and tighthead WP Nel, who comes in for the suspended Zander Fagerson.

Vice-captain Finn Russell continues at fly-half, but Ali Price replaces the injured Ben White at scrum-half but Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones continue their partnership at centre.

The final change sees Kyle Steyn replace Darcy Graham, with Duhan van der Merwe and Blair Kinghorn completing the side.

Your Scotland team for Saturday in St-Étienne 🇫🇷

Read more ➡️ https://t.co/Lnym5YLHYx pic.twitter.com/sY85bD3pzV

— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) August 10, 2023

Stuart McInally makes his return on the replacements bench alongside Rory Sutherland, Scott Cummings and Sam Skinner.

Javan Sebastian and Josh Bayliss will both hope to add to their four caps each, while George Horne and Ollie Smith named amongst the replacements once more.

Scotland XV to face France

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, 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