France v Scotland: hosts poised to get big fright in Paris
Published:France head into their final RBS Six Nations game against Scotland as the big 1/5 favourites – but favouritism hasn’t exactly helped them so far this tournament.
The French need a victory to stand any chance of avoiding their first Wooden Spoon since 1999 and their first winless championship since 1969.
There are plenty of reasons to suppose the French will end their dismal Six Nations with a victory though.
Scotland have an absolutely abysmal record in Paris – they have a terrible record against France in general – and you have to go back to 1999 to find the last time they picked up a win in the French capital.
They have lost all bar one of their 13 matches with the French since then (they recorded a rare victory at Murrayfield back in 2006) and backing them to round off a pretty successful campaign looks rather optimistic at 5/1.
However, whilst Scotland have struggled to pick up wins, they have made things difficult for the French and should be confident of making it a tight affair this time out.
They have lost by more than ten points just once in their previous four meetings – a 34-21 defeat in Paris in 2011 – and, with the Scottish pack finally showing signs of being at the standard required to not only compete but win at this level, backing another close encounter looks the bet to take on.
Considering Scotland haven’t exactly been at their most fluid in recent games (they’ve failed to score a single try in their last two matches) they will surely be looking to keep things tight and make it tough for France in the front row.
Backing Scotland to win with a +12 point handicap looks an extremely enticing bet and is well worth serious consideration.
