Fly-half Matthieu Jalibert says France will have to be wary of his ‘incredible’ opposite number Finn Russell when they come up against Scotland in Round 3 of the Guinness Six Nations.
Jalibert kicked five points for Les Bleus in Sunday’s 15-13 victory over Ireland at the Aviva Stadium, while Russell notched nine in Scotland’s 25-24 defeat to Wales at BT Murrayfield, with boht men effectively pulling the strings from the No.10 channel.
And the two are familiar foes to one another on the domestic stage, with Jalibert’s Bordeaux-Begles overcoming a Racing 92 side with Russell at No.10 back in January, in an epic 33-32 showdown in the Top 14.
With that in mind, the Frenchman is well aware of the threat that the game-breaking Russell provides at first receiver, as France prepare to welcome Scotland to Paris in a fortnight’s time looking to keep their hopes of a first Championship victory since 2010 on track.
“He’s an incredible player who is capable of being the point of difference at any given moment,” Jalibert said.
“He’s ultra-dangerous and is someone I think we have to focus on by putting pressure on him. Generally, Scotland are a side who are progressing enormously.”
France will head into Round 3 top of the pile after that momentous victory in Dublin, with Charles Ollivon and Damian Penaud crossing in either half to secure a second successive victory in this year’s Championship.
A penalty and a conversion from Jalibert kept him top of the point-scoring charts, with 20 from the two matches played so far, as the French team look as potent as ever with ball in hand.
And the fly-half was in excellent form once again at the Aviva Stadium, with his looping pass helping set up Penaud’s decisive score in the second half, while making 42 metres on carries throughout the game.
The No.10 was a proud man after the hard-fought victory over Ireland, but insists his side aren’t getting carried away with three matches left to play.
“It’s a collective joy, we’re very satisfied, we’re very proud about winning here. It was a tough fight, we fought like dogs for 80 minutes,” Jalibert said.
“We played very well, we’re very happy with the performance but we’ll remain measured because we’ve won nothing yet, so we have to focus on what’s coming.”
