FRANCE hooker Benjamin Kayser has hailed Vern Cotter's international impact and fears his old club boss could inspire Scotland to a shock in Saturday's Six Nations opener between the nations.
Kayser played under Cotter for three years at Clermont Auvergne until the popular head coach left to take up the reins at Murrayfield in the summer. Cotter has since tasted defeat to South Africa and New Zealand but has secured two wins against Argentina and successes against USA, Canada and Tonga in morale-boosting summer and autumn Test matches.
The feel-good factor that has swept through Scottish rugby appears not to have gone unnoticed in France and Kayser has confessed Les Bleus could have wished for an easier curtain-raiser to this year's eagerly-anticipated tournament.
"I expect a great game. Knowing Vern, I think he will have had this match marked on his calendar for a while," he said. "Scotland are an excellent team, but with him they are even better. We must be careful. For sure, it is good to start at home because we will have the home support.
"But it will be a big occasion and a big battle - it is far from the perfect match to get into the tournament. In Vern Cotter, they have a real captain on board, who will bring them leadership and direction."
France raised hopes and expectations for this year's Six Nations and for the World Cup in England in September and October with a 29-26 victory over Australia during the Autumn Test series. However, Philippe Saint-Andre's side then proved their unpredictable nature by going down to a shock 18-13 defeat to Argentina. Kayser, though, hopes he is the one celebrating at full-time in the Stade de France on Saturday - as he fears Cotter could dine out on a Scotland win for a while to come.
The former Leicester Tigers, Stade Francais and Castres forward told www.ffr.fr: "He is a lover of France but he will have used their tour in June and the matches in November to try and prepare an upset against France. "I will be happy to see him after the match. I'll shake his hand with a victory for France, or I'll hear about it for a long time!"
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