Head coach Gregor Townsend has made five changes to his Scotland squad for the Six Nations fixture against France.
France and Scotland are currently first and second in the table respectively and will face off at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Townsend chose a fresh front row spot for Crunch Clash.
Loosehead prop Pierre Schumann and hooker George Turner, who came on as a substitute in Scotland’s win over Wales, will start, while tighthead prop Darcy Rae will also make his first appearance in this year’s Championship.
Jack Dempsey has recovered from a biceps injury sustained against England. He will move back to the number eight position, with Matt Fagerson switching to blindside flanker. Gregor Brown will play in the second row, partnering Scott Cummings.
Gregor Townsend has made five changes to his team.
Vice-captain Rory Darge started at openside flanker for the third consecutive game following his impressive Player of the Match performance in Cardiff two weeks ago.
D’Arcy Graham, who scored a superb goal in the last game to take Scotland’s men’s try scoring record to 35, was selected on the right wing, while fellow try scorer against Wales Kyle Steyn was moved to the left and Blair Kinghorn was placed at full-back.
Captain Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones once again recreated their familiar center partnership.
Finn Russell will continue to pull the strings at fly-half and link up with Ben White at scrum-half.
Fast-rising Edinburgh back-rower Freddie Douglas, 20, made his first Six Nations appearance as a substitute, with Townsend opting to sit on the bench as they won 6-2. Hooker Euan Ashman, who started in Italy’s opening game, is also included in the substitute squad after missing the past two games.
Scotland could go top of the table with a bonus point win, while France could seal the title with a win in Edinburgh.
France have named the same starting XI that dominated Ireland in the opening game of this tournament, with fly-half Mathieu Jalibert back in action. Centers Yoram Moefana and Nicolas Deportaire also returned from injury.
Coach Fabien Blau-Boily said, “Fabien Blau-Boily has not fully recovered from a dislocated finger, so he is out of action.”
“We decided to go with the same pair of centers who started against Ireland in the Championship and were very good before the injury.
“Countries and teams that think they can win the tournament will welcome us,” Galthie added. “But our players practiced hard for six weeks and performed well.”
Scotland national team plays against France
Starting XV: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 D’Arcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (captain), 11 Kyle Steyn, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 1 Pierre Schumann, 2 George Turner, 3 Darcy Rae, 4 Gregor Brown, 5 Scott Cummings, 6 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Dage, 8 Jack Dempsey.
Substitutes: 16 Euan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Xander Fagerson, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 Freddie Douglas, 21 Josh Bayliss, 22 George Horne, 23 Tom Jordan.
France national team plays against Scotland
Starting XV: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Theo Atissogbe, 13 Nicolas Deportaire, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis-Biel Bialley, 10 Mathieu Jalibert, 9 Antoine Dupont (captain), 8 Anthony Geronche, 7 Oscar Jegou, 6 François Clos, 5 Michael Guillard, 4 Charles Ollibon, 3 Dorian Aldegueri, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Substitutes: 16 Piet Maubaka, 17 Rodrigue Netty, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Thibault Flamand, 20 Emmanuel Mehou, 21 Leni Nouci, 22 Baptiste Serin, 23 Pierre-Louis Barassy.
