SOMETIMES, memories are all we have. I’m not sure who said that, but what I do know, is that if you are fan of Scottish rugby, trips to gay Paris in the spring have a tendency to live long in the memory.

This afternoon, Scotland take to the field, not having won at Stade de France since 1999. Eighteen years in other words, or, as former Scotland captain Bryan Redpath joked, “we’ve not won there since the last century”.

Redpath, currently head coach at Yorkshire Carnegie, but who will step away from rugby at the end of the season “to get a real job” in the financial sector, knows what it was like to play the waiting game in terms of a result in Paris.

In 1995, the Scots wheeled in to the old international venue of Parc des Princes, starved of a Five Nations win on French soil in 26 years.

“And didn’t we know about that,” said Bryan. “Jim Telfer was always quick enough to tell us, and about the try he scored. But that day we shut him up and made a bit of history. This time around, the current Scotland team could write their own wee bit of history – although Jim would probably still have a moan about something,” laughed Redpath, who sees parallels between those heady years in the 90s and Vern Cotter’s team of today.

“In ’95 we had Gavin (Hastings) at full-back, Chic (Craig Chalmers), Gregor (Townsend) at 13, and a great back row. I’d say the 1999 team though is probably more like the present XV. Then there was Glenn Metcalfe at 15, Toony at stand-off, Alan Tait at centre, Martin Leslie amongst the back-row boys; that team were able to play a calculated, percentage game, then just throw in some off the cuff stuff.

“Read through today’s team, Finn Russell, Huw Jones who I’ve been impressed with, Stuart Hogg at 15, the really quick set of breakaway forwards, and you can see just why there is confidence amongst those who have travelled to Paris, either in the team or in support.”

Last weekend in the Six Nations opener, Scotland showed up as being the real deal both in attack and defence. For Redpath, more of the same is needed against the French, but, predicts it could be an even tougher assignment than facing the Irish.

“I loved watching Scotland’s approach to the game at Murrayfield. It really was exciting and like a breath of fresh air, the way they took the game to Ireland in the first half, and, even had the wherewithal to throw in a cheeky wee line-out that produced a score for Alex Dunbar.

“Normally you’d throw a play like that in early on, in the first couple of line-outs, for no other reason than you can remember what you did in training. But it brought home to me just how much clarity of thought the Scotland team has just now, so in control of what they are doing, with a set game plan that works well.

“In 1995 and again four years later, we had a really dry pitch to play on, and had teams that could run. That would be the ideal conditions for Sunday.

“But in as much as Scotland did well on the front foot, we defended brilliantly as well. My only concern is that over five games, even if they are spread out with a week or two to rest up between games, that kind of intensity could take its toll. You don’t want the Gray boys, or Hamish Stewart, or Zander Fagerson or Allan Dell – who have a fantastic tackle on Keith Earls last week – to be making 20-plus tackles every game. That’s a hard shift.

“In some respects the Irish made it easy, by not really off-loading in the tackle. The French will, they’ll always have someone in support, and that makes it more difficult to regroup and defend. You don’t want to have had an afternoon of that going into the last 20 minutes against any French team.”

Talking about off-loads, it was just such a play – with Gregor Townsend’s back of the hand magic to Gavin Hastings – that won the game for Scotland in 1995.

“That was a hard game. I’d had my shirt torn off my back by a big lock forward, Olivier Brouzet, who stood over me at one stage and his boot was the length of my thigh bone! It was hard graft.

“We’d lost a try, Philippe Saint-Andre scoring in the corner after Toony had missed a touch kick and I always remember Gav saying 'don’t worry, we’ll get another chance'. I don’t know if anyone believed him, but then in midfield Gregor was held up by two Frenchman but conjured a pass out of nothing and Gavin burst through, found some pace from somewhere, and went under the post.

“Poor Gav didn’t get a chance to celebrate, because even though he was puffing a bit, he’d still to get up and kick the conversion. But what a win, what a feeling … what a party!

“It was one of the best; I seem to remember in the hotel, we had an entire floor, but ran out of seats there were so many celebrating. So Rob Wainwright, Doddie (Weir), and I think Damian Cronin, turned in to furniture removal men, and just lifted all the couches from reception and took them up a few floors.

“I don’t think anyone would have noticed. But eventually the night manager politely asked if they could stop. It may have had something to do with the fact a couple was still sitting on a chaise longue they attempted to nick from the foyer…”