Scotland captain Stuart Hogg said he has been annoyed by France talking about their title hopes before today’s Six Nations decider in Paris. Les Bleus will lift their first trophy since 2010 if they win by more than 20 points – to improve on Wales’ points difference – and score at least four tries. 
Hogg’s men, however, will finish second for the first time in the Six Nations era if they claim a victory with an eight-point margin in a fixture re-scheduled from February due to a Covid-19 outbreak in the home camp.
“A lot has been said and it’s beginning to hack me off the fact that they’ve got to get 20 points to win a game,” 28-year-old Hogg said. “We read a quote from one of their players that they’ve got a trophy to win. As a proud Scotsman that hurt me a lot,” he added.
The visitors will be without No. 8 Matt Fagerson after he withdrew on the eve of the match with an ankle injury suffered in training. Nick Haining replaces Fagerson in the starting lineup with Ryan Wilson set to win his 50th cap from the bench.
“We’re gutted for Matt. He’s been outstanding throughout the Six Nations for us,” full-back Hogg said. “With that comes an opportunity for other guys. Nick Haining has really taken his opportunities well when he’s been given them. He’s in good form,” he added.
Hogg’s counterpart Charles Ollivon said their plans remained unchanged despite Fagerson’s late omission. “We will focus on ourselves firstly,” Ollivon said. “We have a big game to prepare, that’s the main thing to say,” he added.
The France set-up recorded 16 cases of coronavirus earlier in the campaign. Ahead of their tournament-opening win over Italy in February players were photographed eating waffles in Rome and were perceived to have broken the Six Nations’ virus protocol.
Yesterday, the French Rugby Federation posted an image of the dessert near the Eiffel Tower on social media to cheekily celebrate International Waffle Day. “I saw it quickly. It didn’t intrigue me,” team manager Raphael Ibanez said.
“We’re preparing as normal for the match. We’re very concentrated on the match against Scotland. That’s what counts,” he added.
Exeter Chiefs’ Hogg is able to feature thanks to an agreement between English clubs and the Scottish Rugby Union as the match falls out of World Rugby’s Test window. However the away side will be missing Saracens winger Sean Maitland as they were limited to five England-based players.
“I could see how much it meant for Sean Maitland that he wasn’t going to be included,” Hogg said. “And the rest of the other boys (unable to play).Boys who have had a massive impact in training and in games over the last few weeks. We’re going out tomorrow to put in a performance that they’d be proud of, that they’ve put massive efforts into.”
Centre Gael Fickou is the most experienced member of Fabien Galthie’s squad with 62 Tests since his debut in 2013. During his international career he has experienced heavy defeats to England, New Zealand and South Africa but France’s fortunes have turned around since Galthie’s appointment last year.
“I ate some stale bread with the old generation so I know it will be enormous for our supporters and our families because it’s been such a long time they’ve been waiting for it,” Fickou said.
“But we can’t get mixed up, we have to concentrate on the victory, then as time goes by, if we can win the title then we’ll go for it without hesitation. We will give 200% to try and bring the trophy home,” he added.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend’s relationship with Galthie stretches back to the ex-playmaker’s time with Castres in the French top-flight. They featured together in the former scrum-half’s final match, as the French Barbarians lost to Australia in 2004. 
“It was great to play alongside him because he was a very, very talented player and he played heads up, he looked like a stand-off playing scrum half and he had great intelligence, but it was his competitiveness that set him apart,” Townsend said. “They are good traits for coaching and he has done a really good job over these last two years,” Townsend added.