Scotland v France: Chris Paterson claims Scotland head coach Frank Hadden has restored confidence in the squad ahead of tomorrow's opener at Murrayfield.
The Scots have won just two games from the last three Six Nations campaigns - both against Italy in Edinburgh. However, the 27-year-old is confident he will be celebrating his 60th cap with Scotland's first home triumph against the French for 10 years. "We haven't felt this confident in quite some years and we are all just desperate to get out there and play good, quick rugby to entertain the fans," said Paterson.
"We all feel good, fresh and sharp and there is an air of confidence in the side. With Scotland, we tend to ebb towards the negative side, but Frank has brought in a lot of confidence and you can see that in all of us. The big question is how far forward we have come in terms of beating France. I certainly hope we have, but Frank has certainly brought a trust in his players as well."
Scotland gave France a major scare on the opening day last season in Paris before losing 16-9. "Historically, this is the best time to face them, but France, nowadays, are so good they can crush you any time. But you have to play them some time, so why not first?"
SCOTLAND: H Southwell (Edinburgh Gunners); C Paterson (Edinburgh Gunners), M Di Rollo (Edinburgh Gunners), A Henderson (Glasgow Warriors), S Lamont (Northampton Saints); D Parks (Glasgow Warriors), M Blair (Edinburgh Gunners), G Kerr (Leeds Tykes), D Hall (Edinburgh Gunners), B Douglas (Border Reivers), A Kellock (Edinburgh Gunners), S Murray (Edinburgh Gunners), J White (Sale Sharks), S Taylor (Edinburgh Gunners); A Hogg (Edinburgh Gunners). Replacements: S Lawson (Glasgow Warriors), C Smith (Edinburgh Gunners), S MacLeod (Border Reivers), J Petrie (Glasgow Warriors), C Cusiter (Border Reivers), G Ross (Leeds Tykes), S Webster (Edinburgh Gunners).
FRANCE: N Brusque (Biarritz); C Dominici (Stade Francais), F Fritz (Toulouse), Y Jauzion (Toulouse), C Heymans (Toulouse); F Michalak (Toulouse), JB Elissalde (Toulouse); S Marconnet (Stade Français), D Szarzewski (Stade Français), P de Villiers (Stade Français), F Pelous (Toulouse, capt), J Thion (Biarritz), Y Nyanga (Toulouse), J Bonnaire (Bourgoin), R Martin (Stade Français). Replacements: S Bruno (Sale), O Milloud (Bourgoin), L Nallet (Castres), T Lievremont (Biarritz), D Yachvili (Biarritz), B Boyet (Bourgoin), L Valbon (Brive).
Referee: J Kaplan (South Africa).
Scotland v France
Tomorrow, Murrayfield
Kick-off: 3pm
On TV: RTÉ 2, BBC 1
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