Few would have expected it to be Scotland and not France who are entering round three with their Grand Slam hopes intact.

They face a stern test against a France side licking their wounds after losing a classic encounter against Ireland.

However, the Scots won in Paris for the first time in the Six Nations on their last visit two years ago.

Team news

France have made just one change to their team with Mohamed Haouas replacing the suspended Uini Atonio at tight-head prop.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has also made just one change with flanker Hamish Watson coming into the side for the first time this tournament following a head injury. He takes the place of Luke Crosbie, who drops out of the squad altogether.

Townsend has opted for a 6-2 split between forwards and backs on the bench with versatile forward Sam Skinner coming in and centre Chris Harris dropping out.

In the only other change, scrum-half Ali Price replaces George Horne.

Commentator’s notes

Andrew Cotter: The good news for Scotland is that they know how to win at Stade de France, having done so just two years ago.

The bad news is that that victory was behind closed doors and on Sunday, in the first home game of the Championship for France, Paris will be demanding a big performance following defeat in Dublin, and before that an underwhelming display in Rome.

Expect tries in this one – and probably quite a few with two of the best attacking sides in the game.

You know that Antoine Dupont, Damian Penaud and co will pose a threat. The question for Scotland is can they compete with the physicality of France to give their own gifted backline a chance to prosper? That would make even a full stadium sound quiet again.

View from both camps

France head coach Fabien Galthie on starting Mohamed Haouas: “We integrate ‘Momo’ who has already played with us on different occasions and allows us to conserve a collective experience.

“The players who make up the team have proved they are capable of facing any challenge.

“Changes after a defeat can be synonymous with a punishment. We decided, after some thought, there was no reasons to change the team apart from Uini Atonio.”

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend: “There’s an excitement about the challenges and the opportunities ahead of us, but there’s also a determination.

“We can play much better than we did in those first two games and we know our performance will need to improve to get anything in Paris.”

Line-ups

France: 15-Ramos; 14-Penaud, 13-Fickou, 12-Moefana, 11-Dumortier; 10-Ntamack, 9-Dupont (capt); 1-Baille, 2-Marchand, 3-Atonio, 4-Flament, 5-Willemse, 6-Jelonch, 7-Ollivon, 8-Alldritt.

Replacements: 16-Barlot, 17-Wardi, 18-Falatea, 19-Taofifenua, 20-Cros, 21-Macalou, 22-Couilloud, 23-Jalibert.

Scotland: 15-Hogg; 14-Steyn, 13-Jones, 12-Tuipulotu, 11-Van der Merwe; 10-Russell, 9-White; 1-Schoeman, 2-Turner, 3-Z. Fagerson, 4-R. Gray, 5-Gilchrist, 6-Ritchie (capt), 7-Watson, 8-M. Fagerson

Replacements: 16-Brown, 17-Bhatti, 18-WP Nel, 19-J. Gray, 20-Skinner, 21-Dempsey, 22-Price, 23-Kinghorn

Match facts

Head-to-head

• Having won just one of their first 16 Six Nations games against France, Scotland have won four of their past seven against Les Bleus in the championship.
• Having claimed their maiden away win against France in the Six Nations on their last visit in 2021 (and only their second in 45 matches in Paris), Scotland are aiming to win back-to-back games in the French capital in the Five or Six Nations for the first time since 1967-69.
• Of their 99 previous meetings in all competitions, France lead with 57 wins to Scotland’s 39 (D3).

France

• France’s 14-game unbeaten run, which dated back to July 2021 and was the longest in their history, came to an end against Ireland.
• They have won 18 of their past 19 Test matches on home soil, including their last nine in a row, with their only defeat in that spell coming against Scotland in March 2021, 696 days ago.
• Les Bleus are aiming to win 10 consecutive home games for the first time since 1986-1989.

Scotland

• Scotland have won six of their past eight away games in the Six Nations, having been victorious in just seven of their previous 51 away matches in the Championship (D1, L43).
• The nine tries Scotland have scored in two games is more than they managed in the entire tournament in 16 of the 23 previous Six Nations championships.
• They have won four of their past five Tests, having triumphed in just three of the nine before that.
• Finn Russell’s 10 try assists in nine Tests since the start of 2022 is more than any other Tier One player.

Match officials

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GEO)

Touch judges: Karl Dickson (ENG) & Andrea Piardi (ITA)

TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WAL)