Six Nations: Gregor Townsend targets Scotland’s first win in Paris since 1999 for second place

Head coach Gregor Townsend says Scotland are “gunning” for the eight-point victory over France that would secure second spot in the Six Nations.

The Scots have not won in Paris since 1999.

“We feel like we’re capable of going there and getting a result,” Townsend said.

“We need more than just a win, we need to win by a few points (five) to get to third and potentially get to second (eight). But that’s what we’re gunning towards.

“We’ve shown that we can play very well away from home and if we do deliver an 80-minute performance we’ll be more than just competitive.

“We’ve played France a couple of times in the last 12 months, they’ve both been close games. We didn’t fire many shots in our game against them in November, but it was right down to the last minute that game.

“A year ago we played some really good rugby against them (in a 28-17 win at Murrayfield). So I would hope they’ll know we’ll be a tough opponent for them.”

France require a big win to overhaul leaders Wales but Townsend believes recent performances on the road have given Scotland confidence they can smash another long winless away run in Paris.

They beat Wales in Llanelli in October in their final match of the 2020 Six Nations, a first win on Welsh soil since 2002. They followed that up by turning over England at Twickenham for the first time since 1983 to open the current campaign.

“We hadn’t won in London in 38 years and hadn’t won in Wales in 18 years, so there’s another number there, another record we would like to take away,” Townsend added.

“Our players can take a lot of confidence from those two performances in Llanelli and Twickenham. This is an opportunity more than any other when there’s no crowd in the stadium. We felt that in our two home games and when we’ve played away from home this season.”