Scotland’s forwards coach John Dalziel has issued a rallying cry to his squad, challenging them to deliver their best performance of the Six Nations campaign this Saturday against France.
The pivotal encounter is seen as crucial for keeping their hopes alive for a maiden Guinness Six Nations title.
Following an opening-weekend defeat to Italy, the Scots have demonstrated resilience, securing consecutive victories over England and Wales.
This resurgence has propelled them to second place in the table, trailing only this weekend’s Grand Slam-chasing French side.
A bonus-point triumph over France at Murrayfield could see Scotland leapfrog their visitors, setting up a thrilling finale in Ireland.
Dalziel underscored the magnitude of the occasion, stating: “It’s everything, isn’t it?”
He added, reflecting on the team’s journey: “Sione (Tuipulotu) spoke well today to the group: when we came in here it was a seven-week block together, it’s now down to two and we’ve given ourselves an opportunity to be in this position where we are.
“We’ve got to really relish every minute we are together for the next two weeks. It starts on Saturday. Our sights are only on that and we want to give our supporters the game of the tournament so far. The belief has honestly never been higher.”
The historical encounters between Scotland and France under Gregor Townsend have often been tight, with Scotland winning five of their 13 meetings.
A particularly memorable and contentious fixture at Murrayfield two years ago saw Scotland denied a last-gasp try by Sam Skinner, a decision that would have secured victory.
Dalziel acknowledged this history: “We chatted about that this morning. We’ve got good history there, but we’ve been on the wrong side of it as well with narrow defeats.
Test match rugby can be around a decision, which we had two years ago here. But it’s evidence that we can be there, we can be with France, as formidable as they are, at the tail end of a Test match.
“We can be there banging and we got on the wrong side of that decision. It was a tough decision, it could have been given differently but it is what it is.
“The belief is in how competitive we’ve been with them and we believe that when we’ve got our game right, we can challenge them.”
In a boost for the Scottish camp, influential number eight Jack Dempsey, initially feared to be out for the championship after sustaining a bicep injury against England, has rejoined the squad.
His potential availability for the clash against Les Bleus hinges on Wednesday’s training session.
Dalziel expressed cautious optimism regarding Dempsey’s return: “We’re just basically monitoring that day by day. Having him back is a bonus and we’ll do everything we can to get him ready and available.
“Tomorrow will be a big day in terms of the contact element of that. We’ve certainly got more hope than we had at the start of last week.
“We thought that Jack was gone for the tournament, so for him to be able to turn around and find a way to be in this position has been good.”
