Marcoussis (France) (AFP)

Murrayfield, act 2. Eight months after the only defeat of the Galthié era, the XV of France finds Scotland Sunday in Edinburgh with the hope of having learned enough lessons not to relive the same scenario.

The context will necessarily be "different" from that of March 8 (28-17), as the back Thomas Ramos pointed out on Tuesday.

No "Flower of Scotland" sung by a whole stadium, because of a match behind closed doors, no bagpipes but a competition, the brand new Nations Cup, which does not yet have the same prestige as the Tournament .

The France team however wants to give itself all the means to win.

But no question of rehashing.

"We are working on what we have been able to do there but, in any case, we do not make scenarios," said Ramos, who except surprise, should start at the back to compensate for the absence of Anthony Bouthier , injured left knee.

This defeat (28-17), without the defensive bonus, had cost the Blues dearly, who had finished second in the Tournament, with the same number of points as England (18), first for the benefit of a better difference of general points.

Above all, Charles Ollivon and his partners had accumulated the tiles at Murrayfield: injury of Camille Chat during the warm-up, early yellow card for the third row François Cros, exit of the opener Romain Ntamack after eight minutes of play for protocol concussion and red card for the right pillar Mohamed Haouas, shortly before half-time, after a punch addressed to Jamie Ritchie ...

"There were a lot of hazards, injuries and playing events ..." Grégory Alldritt recalled on Wednesday.

But the France team has above all "lost the thread of the match and (its) strategy", added the third center line of La Rochelle, believing that the group has come a long way since.

"We have learned that in rugby, a lot can happen," he said.

During this match, "there was a lot to review" and the team "failed on certain points", especially the discipline, but it "was able to learn lessons", continues the Rochelais.

So, revenge, these Blues?

"Before talking about revenge, it is above all a rugby match (...) we go there to win and finish first in this group," said Alldritt, of Scottish origin through his father.

- "Be ok in chaos" -

Winning in Edinburgh is a challenge for the Blues in terms of numbers.

They remain on four consecutive defeats at Murrayfield where their last success dates back to March 8, 2014 (19-17).

"It's been six years since we won there. It's a different story than the last match," tempers the second row Paul Willemse.

The XV of Chardon is in a good dynamic: Saturday in Florence, he signed against Italy a fifth victory in a row (28-17), unheard of since 2011.

The French have not played since October 31 and the success against Ireland (35-27) in the Tournament.

The meeting scheduled for last Sunday against Fiji has been canceled, due to an avalanche of cases of Covid-19 in the ranks of the Oceanian selection.

Can the lack of competition influence Sunday?

"Not at all," Willemse said.

"Because we do big training with contacts (...) Not for 80 minutes but with a lot of intensity. With training like that, we are in top shape."

The objective is clear: do everything to hunt Scottish ghosts.

"We had the feeling of experiencing chaos that day. But we adapt. We worked a lot to be ok in the chaos," concludes Karim Ghezal, co-trainer of the conquest.

© 2020 AFP