SCOTLAND may have beaten France at Murrayfield on the past three occasions but Magnus Bradbury is in no doubt that if the hosts are to make it four in a row next weekend, they will need to be at their very best.
Bradbury has been in the starting line-up for both the England and Italy games this Six Nations and while Scotland were not at their best in their losses to Ireland and England, they were much improved for their visit to Rome last weekend.
However, the back-row knows that with the French side going for the Six Nations grand slam after three wins so far this tournament, the Scots face a considerable challenge at Murrayfield next weekend and the side cannot look too much into those previous victories.
“It is a different France team (this time), they’ve shown that with recent results,” he said.
“We can’t rely on confidence from the senior players (who have beaten France before) it’s up to us to ask them. We fancy our chances at home against any team, as long as we turn up and do a job.
“The youth coming through (in the France team) is impressive. How young that team is and how successful early on – that’s a team for a while going forward and that can only get better. From their point of view, that’s encouraging.
“I tend to look at the back-row players being a back-row myself and they work really well together, they bounce off each other very well. And then you have even more dynamic players on the bench coming on to replace them.
“We’re going out there preparing for another physical, fast test match against a team who are playing some good rugby at the moment. We understand the challenge that poses.
“But we’re going to try our best to stop them getting the grand slam.”
Scotland’s analysis of France will begin in earnest next week but it is clear that one of Fabien Galthie’s side's major strong points is the way they have come out the blocks firing on all cylinders in all three of their Six Nations fixtures so far this season.
Scotland are not always known for their fast starts and so Bradbury knows that is one area in which he and his teammates must focus on next weekend as whoever gets on top early will have the upper hand.
“I think that’s how most teams like to start,” he said of France’s red-hot starts.
“We spoke about that with Italy and England, so it’s not something we’re not used to. And it’s how we want to start too, shellshock teams and get early points on the board.
“It’s difficult now for teams to resurge and put pressure on teams that have made a good start. I don’t know what will happen until the start of the game but hopefully we’ll come out better.”
Bradbury is establishing himself as a regular in Townsend’s back-row and the fact that more often than not, he is playing alongside his Edinburgh clubmates, Hamish Watson and Jamie Ritchie means he could not feel more at home.
The trio very nearly combined to score against Italy last weekend but for Ritchie spilling the ball at the last minute and while Bradbury would have loved to have been a part of such a score, nevertheless he is delighted with how he and his fellow back-rowers are combining.
“It was almost a dream try but unfortunately not,” he said.
“We work well together, we know how each other plays now and it’s encouraging to see. And it’s nice to play with some good mates, it’s good fun.
“Hamish and Jamie are in great form at the moment, they’re playing some of the best rugby I’ve seen them play in a long time so it’s good to see that and I can draw confidence from that. The guys on the flanks make my job easier and I can help them out as well.
“Obviously we’ve got a couple of fetchers and we all try to carry as much as I can and tackle as much as we can so I think we complement each other really well.”
If Bradbury once again makes Townsend’s match-day squad next weekend, it will only be his fifth international appearance at Murrayfield. And while he is quick to point out every game for Scotland is special, home games have something a little extra.
“Every time we play at Murrayfield, I look forward to it,” he said.
“It’s been special this year to have England at home and we were unfortunate not to get the result and then France at home. As a team, we fancy ourselves against anyone at home.
“You get off that bus to go to the changing rooms and the senior players tell us take your headphones off and listen to this.
“It’s a great experience.”
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