Chris Paterson
Former Scotland international on BBC One

Gregor Townsend will be fizzing with that. Just as Scotland gain some momentum and boot play up to the French 22, Fraser Brown's line-out throw is squint.

Scrum France. With Cros off, Gael Fickou comes in to pack down at flanker.

Yellow card for Cros. Referee Paul Williams was leaning towards awarding only a penalty, but after chatting with his colleagues, sends the flanker to the sin bin.

Cros was on his knees as he made the clumsy tackle, but it really did not look good with Gilchrist landing almost vertically on his head and neck.

Now then. Scotland's towering lock Grant Gilchrist is dumped on his head and shoulders by Francois Cros.

The French flanker could be in deep, deep trouble here.

A typically rambunctious carry from Hamish Watson propels Scotland into French territory.

There is space for an attacking move but Sam Johnson opts to kick, and his punt trickles harmlessly into touch.

France win the line-out and hoof down into the Scottish half.

Ntamack's kick swirls and swerves in the breeze and eventually flashes just wide of the posts.

Scotland regather the 22m drop-out and try to launch an attack of their own.

Early penalty to France as Nick Haining fails to roll away from a ruck in a timely enough fashion just inside the Scotland half.

Virimi Vakatawa shows a glimpse of his attacking panache with a rumbling carry, freeing up an arm to flip out an off-load despite being held up by two Scotsmen.

BNtamack is going for goal from around 45m.

Here. We. Go.

Murrayfield is bathed in glorious sunshine. France are rampant but haven't won here in six years.

What does this blockbuster showdown have in store for us?

Romain Ntamack gets us under way

Right then, poll time.

Thumbs-up if you're predicting a home win; thumbs-down if you fancy the French momentum to continue unabated.

Fraser Brown trundles out onto the pitch a little ahead of his team-mates to mark his 50th cap.

We're all set for the anthems as the flames rise from the Murrayfield tunnel mouth.

In a contest awash with enticing storylines, one of the more interesting is the tale of Pieter de Villiers. A superb prop who won 68 France caps and five Top 14 titles, he is now Scotland's scrum specialist.

His impact so far seems pretty impressive, particularly in the opening-round loss to Ireland. He's said Scotland players are "probably the group that has responded the quickest ever” to his methods.

France have a monstrous pack, but there are question marks over the scrummaging of their tight-head props. The set-piece will be a massive area, with De Villiers plotting the downfall of his former team.

Here he is being tackled by Chris Paterson - who also helps out with the Scotland coaching - in 2007.

Image source, Getty Images

John Barclay
Former Scotland captain on BBC One

Paul O'Connell
Former Ireland captain on BBC One

Steve Tandy succeeded the long-standing Scotland defence coach Matt Taylor after last year's World Cup, and so far, he's done a fine job.

Despite two disappointing results, Scotland have the best defence in the Six Nations. They've only shipped two tries in three games against Ireland, England and Italy.

Of course, there are mitigating circumstances - this year's Calcutta Cup clash was played in truly heinous weather, unlike last season's madcap 38-38 draw - but against the same opposition in 2019, Scotland conceded 11 tries.

The rampant French will provide the sternest test of Tandy's new system to date.

At just 20 years old, Romain Ntamack has been arguably the player of the Six Nations so far. The Toulouse pivot looks utterly unflappable, lethal with ball in hand and deadly with the boot.

He is also the progeny of a famous French international. Father Emile, a cracking centre/wing in his day, won 46 caps and a grand slam as a player and coach.

Scotland fans of a certain vintage will remember the outrageous try he scored to sink their team in the pool stage of 1995 World Cup.

"He has just one desire, that I am better than him in everything," says Romain. "Before every match, even the smaller ones, he always sends me a message or calls me a few minutes to wish me luck, to try and reassure me."

Image source, Getty Images

Camille Chat, the man with the largest neck in world rugby, has been helped from the field during the warm-up.

It looks like the replacement hooker will miss out, with Peato Mauvaka set to take his spot on the bench.

Andy Nicol
Former Scotland scrum-half on BBC One

John Barclay
Former Scotland captain on BBC One

What a momentous day it could be for Clan Steyn, with Glasgow Warriors back Kyle set to make his Test debut from the bench.

The sevens international has a Scottish mother, but was born and raised in South Africa, where his father Rory (quality Scottish name) was a bodyguard for Nelson Mandela.

Image source, SBS

Scrum-half Antoine Dupont has been in sensational form for France - and Townsend is well aware of the threat he carries.

“The half-backs control the flow of the game in any team," he tells BBC Scotland.

"But when you’ve got someone as good as Antoine Dupont, who has an excellent kicking game but is also a good runner, we’ve got to make him feel the pressure."

Image source, Getty Images