Rugby: Leslie brothers united again for Scotland

The Leslie brothers make their international return together at Murrayfield tomorrow - and remain united in their belief that Scotland will need to be at their best to beat France.

Northampton centre John and Edinburgh back-row Martin are both recalled to the Scottish starting line-up as they attempt to destroy yet another Grand Slam dream.

Defeats in Edinburgh for England and Ireland in the last two seasons have earned the Scots a Slam-busting reputation, but they will need all the legendary guile of coach Ian McGeechan to complete the hat-trick.

Having destroyed England in Paris three weeks ago, the French head to Scotland in confident mood and according to the home side’s Wellington-born contingent, with good reason.

‘‘England have been talking a lot but the French have come along and shown them they are right up there as well,’’ said Martin, the younger sibling by exactly 11 months.

‘‘They are playing very good rugby and not giving so many penalties away. We have got to slow their ball down.’’

Newcastle lock Stuart Grimes makes way for the younger Leslie, albeit to allow Jason White to move into the second-row, while Andrew Henderson does not even make the bench tomorrow following the elder brother’s recall.

Scotland hope to have ironed out the defensive frailties which saw them demolished 43-22 by Ireland in Dublin three weeks ago.

Their recent record against the French is not particularly impressive, boasting just one win in the last five meetings, the thrilling 36-22 triumph in Paris three years ago which effectively won the final Five Nations title.

Since then, France have reached the World Cup final and, under Bernard Laporte, embarked on a winning streak which includes home wins over all three Tri-Nations giants in the past 18 months, a feat which has even eluded England.

‘‘We can’t just hope France have a bad day, we have to be better than that,’’ said John Leslie, whose outstanding display for Northampton in their Powergen Cup semi-final victory over Newcastle two weeks ago suggests he is back to his best form.

‘‘They have moved on from the maybe, maybe-not sides of the past. The Grand Slam is in their sights, they have a professional attitude.

‘‘Their discipline has come on leaps and bounds and we are well and truly underdogs for this game. We will have to be at our absolute maximum to beat them and even then we might not.’’

Leslie will find a familiar face in the opposition ranks as he squares up against fellow New Zealander Tony Marsh.

Marsh has carved out an impressive career at Montferrand, and has already punished the Scots once, turning on the style to dump Glasgow out of this season’s Heineken Cup.

The friendship with Leslie goes back a long way, and the pair will meet up after the game to chat about old times.

However, on the pitch they remain enemies, and Leslie knows his Scottish team-mates need little warning about the threat posed by the visitors’ centre.

‘‘We played together as youngsters, so I knew what he was capable of,’’ said the former Scotland skipper.

‘‘He has been in France for three or four years now. He has done his time, speaks the language quite fluently and has matured into a really good player.

‘‘He is one of a number of dangerous players in the French side and we will have to play well to contain him.’’