The 32-year-old flanker captained his country the last time that they defeated France -- 20-16 at Murrayfield five years ago -- and, although he has been missing from the Test for 15 months -- he has spent much of that time recovering from a double fracture to his leg -- he has not given up on his ambition of earning a recall.
White, who now plies his trade at Clermont-Auvergne, has watched at close quarters the reaction to France’s embarrassing 59-16 defeat to Australia during the autumn Test schedule. While it would be ingenuous to dismiss the possibility of the Scots being caught up in the backlash, White likes the look of Robinson’s side for the Stade de France and feels the best way of preventing the hosts from seizing the initiative is to fight fire with fire in the attacking stakes.
“This is a pretty good time to be facing the French, because there have got to be some self-doubts following their loss to Australia; it was unbelievable how they capitulated in the second half,” said White, who had envisaged that the match would go down to the wire when the sides were tied after 40 minutes.
“It was the speed of the Aussies which troubled France; they [France] just couldn’t get to grips with their opponents. The Scots should have taken heart from that fact. Andy [Robinson] has chosen a side with plenty of pace in the back line, and he will be hoping that the likes of Joe Ansbro, Max Evans and Nick De Luca can expose similar weaknesses in the French defence.
“We [Scotland] definitely have the quality in the pack to deliver them good ball, so we have to improve our try-scoring record, but I am confident that this team will give a good account of themselves. I don’t think that they will be worried about playing in what will be a hostile atmosphere in Paris. They went to Argentina last summer and won 2-0, so they have learned to win on the road and I expect them to be a real handful in this Six Nations.”
None the less, White appreciates the necessity of starting positively in any Six Nations campaign. Too often throughout the last decade, the Scots have lost their opening fixture in the competition and faced an uphill struggle thereafter. It seems longer than 12 years ago since the likes of Gregor Townsend, Alan Tait and the Leslie brothers, John and Martin, destroyed the Gauls in their own backyard with a magnificent first-half performance.
White, a stalwart of 77 caps, recognises that Robinson’s troops must adopt the mantra of “Whatever it takes” on Saturday. Basically, it’s irrelevant if they prevail with a last-gasp Dan Parks drop goal, benefit from a forward pass en route to the try line, or capitalise on French indiscipline; all that matters is that they prevail and come home with a victory.
“You have to win at least one of your first two matches, otherwise the championship can turn into a damage limitation exercise, and there is a quick turnaround between the France and Wales games, but the Scots have shown in the last year they are capable of rising to the occasion and building momentum,” said White, who was speaking to Herald Sport in his role as an ambassador with the Xodus Group.
“The lads ended last season fantastically well; if you win in places like Dublin and Buenos Aires, then you shouldn’t have any fear about going anywhere. This is a big year for rugby, with the Six Nations, the pre-World Cup preparation matches, and then the cup itself in New Zealand, so the boys will have to do their best to peak at three different times in 2011. It’s a big ask, but it is also a very exciting challenge.”
