Leslie is the motivation for Scots

Scotland will be spurred on by a collective sense of grievance as they hope to banish the memory of a hellish week by producing the shock of the World Cup in Sydney tomorrow.

The Scots seem utterly illequipped to beat France in the Olympic Stadium after a week which began with them being forced to flee their hotel because a convention of Hell's Angels was in town, continued with a quite unconvincing win over USA and ended with them having Martin Leslie kicked out of the tournament.

Yet the team appears to have been brought closer together in its unqualified vote of support for Leslie, who was banned for 12 weeks - the second longest suspension in World Cup history - for kneeing American opponent Jason Keyter in the head.

Not only are they unconvinced by the video evidence - from certain angles, it looks more like an accident than a deliberate attack - but they are also dismayed by the fact that other seemingly more clear-cut offences in this competition, like Lawrence Dallaglio's punch in the South Africa game, were not punished at all.

For this crucial match - victory will virtually guarantee their progress while defeat will leave them facing an effective eliminator against Fiji next weekend - coach Ian McGeechan has plumped for experience over promise, even relegating his three-try wing sensation Simon Danielli to the bench while trusting in old hand Kenny Logan.

The French, who have won their last four encounters with Scotland seem the most serene squad in the event with their only distraction being the sights of Bondi Beach straight across the road from their hotel. Centre Tony Marsh insisted: "We're not here to watch the girls!"