CAN SCOTLAND BEAT FRANCE ?sx Forward Test Scots May Win Next Saturday , " But I Hae Ma Doots , " Says E. H. D. SEWELL .sx All five selection committees having laid their cards on the table it is now possible to hazard the choice of winner of this year's International Championship .sx I suggest right away that the premiership will be won and lost at Swansea on February 28 when France and Wales clash .sx In my experience of playing and watching , most , if not all , of the big affairs depend upon strength at half-back .sx I was impressed by the size , hands , pace and general ability of the French pair Serin ( scrum ) and Servolle against Ireland .sx It will probably not weaken France much next Saturday when Rouzie , of Villeneuve , takes Serin's place , for all that it will be the youngster's baptism of fire .sx I question if there is anything rougher in our football than that upon which an average scrum-half is brought up in the Midi and South-West of France .sx Report speaks highly of Rouzie .sx Too highly , in fact , as he has already been written up very stupidly as a " second " !sx The Nelson of former days would deprive him of that handicap in quick time in Murrayfield .sx The Irish half-back problem is in a state of flux .sx Those who were dissatisfied with Sugden's play against France will welcome the pitting against him in next Saturday's trial at Dublin of the versatile P. Murray .sx Murray , really a centre , played splendidly at scrum-half in New Zealand , and serviceably in three of Ireland's matches of last season at standoff .sx He was not more than average of New Year's Day in the centre against France .sx I have no knowledge of the form of Captain P. Roche , who is Sugden's partner in next Saturday's Trial .sx He may or may not alter the look of the landscape .sx Before he appeared on it , unheralded , one of the losing side against France said to me :sx - " We must have looked a moderate side to-day , but we'll make England go the whole course all the same .sx " With all due respect to Tucker's pack , the Irishman's was a justifiable boast .sx The many Scots among my readers who have not seen this season's French side will be surprised at its general standard of ability , and especially at its dash and quick marking in the centre .sx In which I include Servolle , the stand-off .sx That is , of course , assuming that nothing irrespective of Scots' ability happens to lower the morale of Ribere's XV .sx I am thinking at the moment of the unfortunate Tailliantou , the verdict in whose case at Bordeaux , where he stands arraigned for causing the death in a tackle of another player last April , may be given during the week .sx Should that verdict go against him , the members of an international side of which he was a member last season would be something less than human not to be affected by it .sx In fact , I don't believe they would play within 50 per cent .sx of their form .sx Assuming New Year's Day form on the part of the French side at Murrayfield , then Scotland will do unexpectedly well to have much , if any , the better of their visitors , but the inability of Baillette to play in the centre weakens France very much .sx A Scots pack containing four Anglo-Scots and three Borderers is not an old-time Scottish eight until it has proved itself in the fire .sx For all that , Border forwards thought good enough for an international match are generally very fine players .sx Whether the Border now breeds men like W. E. Dyle , of Hawick , remains to be seen .sx When he won 21 caps Scots forward play was probably heftier than it is now , and a place in Scotland's pack took a lot more winning for a Borderer than it does to-day .sx It remains to be seen whether this somewhat un-Scottish Scots pack is physically strong enough to solve the peculiar problem which confronts all our national packs pitted against the Gaul -that of untying the Gordian knot into which French packs tie themselves so habitually as to justify the belief that the practice is part of their war plan .sx Personally , until I see it done I hae ma doots , and if I had to have a bet would back the franc against the bawbee - both on paper having , I believe , about the same value .sx Leaving psychology out of it , this French eight has to be shaken and then broken before Scotland - the luck of the bounce and chance interceptions excepted - can win on Saturday .sx POINTS FOR AINTREE .sx By TETRARCH .sx I spent long spells last week trying to divide the 85 Grand National entries into groups of Probables , Possibles , and Impossible's .sx Unfortunately , I had to form a fourth group for unknowns , of which there are several like the Hungarian contender , Gyi Lovam .sx I began at the bottom of the merit list , and came to the conclusion that 13 - an apt number - had no right , on anything they had ever threatened to do , to be nominated .sx They are merely useless make weight .sx Then I marked off seven as possessing very doubtful credentials indeed .sx This twenty I have dubbed the impossibles .sx How many will face the starter ?sx None , I hope .sx Taking the remainder , I have found that nineteen horses can lay claim to serious consideration .sx I have had to include Gregalach , Drin , and Gib from Percy Woodland's stable , and quite realise that in doing so I may easily have left out the winner .sx Thus about half the horses entered come within the Possible category .sx It is this class which always causes the trouble to the man in quest of the winner .sx There are such horses as May King , which have jumped the Aintree country , and may do so again to the undoing of better horses .sx There are also horses like Aspirant , the Cheltenham winner , who may develop into a very live proposition at the first time of asking .sx And horses like Render , a six-year-old , who has still much to learn about fencing , but has shown great promise of becoming a good one with experience .sx The present is not the time to draw conclusions and make deductions .sx That time will arrive when the acceptances are announced .sx We may then ascertain whether Woodland will still think fit to proceed with the idea of running Gib .sx In view of his not very glorious display at Liverpool's November meeting .sx All Woodland's horses , however , are in different ownerships , so , after all , the whole fleet may be launched at Aintree on March 27 .sx It will be interesting to see if Ivor Anthony considers it worth while to run either of his two capable young chasers , Ballasport and Favourite Star , in the face of such talent as is commanded by Jack Anthony with Easter Here and Sir Lindsay .sx Another question which may be answered is whether Duller thinks his failure of 1930 , Rhyticere , is now in better form than Royal Arch II .sx , who finished sixth last year .sx Or has Duller a better one in the American importation , Bangle II .sx ? Then , again , will George Poole , who has been none too well of late , declare for Render or Castletown instead of Richmond ?sx This horse , now eight years old , gave a promising display when third in Gregalach's year .sx BLACK SAVES ENGLAND .sx Last-minute Penalty Goal Foils Wales .sx England 11pts , Wales 11pts .sx By E. H. D. SEWELL .sx A last-minute penalty goal saved England from defeat at Twickenham yesterday .sx Wales were leading by three points three minutes from the end , but two minutes later England were awarded a penalty , and Black saved the game with a brilliant kick .sx A draw was scarcely a fair result , for Wales had the better of the game as a whole , and but for lack of finish would have won by a clear margin .sx I was much impressed by the general play of Jones-Davies and Davy .sx Without being brilliant both were sound all through , coping splendidly with the heavy metal opposite .sx Bowcott should keep his place .sx It is obvious that he and Powell had to fall in with each other's ways , and , all things considered , they did fairly well .sx Powell's famous reserve pass did not worry the old Cantab as much as it did some of their opponents .sx Bassett may have been short of a game or two , but he played like a real football player .sx The new England full-back , Bedford , showed that he is jolly good in a tight corner .sx Never overawed and for a first appearance in an international he gave a capital show after a poor start .sx He cost England the marked goal in the first half .sx I expected to find Morley faster , but he played his part , as did Boon , who is clearly a good-class player .sx Easily the best of the English backs was Aarvold , Burland and Pope .sx They made fewest mistakes .sx MOVE WELSHMEN KNEW .sx Aarvold's raking stride compensated for his want of sheer pace .sx But the Welsh centres kept him unemployed .sx Burland did not have such a walk-over as in the rather misleading third English trial , but he is the sound , solid sort who will keep his place .sx The inter-passing movement between him and Barrington , in which the last-named , having received from the scrum-half , passes to Burland and then runs behind and round him to receive the ball again , was not in effective evidence .sx This was , no doubt , due to the Welshmen's familiarity with the Bristol team's methods .sx The Welsh centres were the better in the first half and gave England no scope .sx Barrington , for his part , was often in the picture , but the Welsh wing forwards gave him little or no rope , so that he did not hit it off with Pope as he had done in the trial matches .sx Reeves was well looked after by Boon and never got a pass .sx The Welsh centre , Davy , did his share in the success without showing remarkable form .sx His quickness was favourably commended on , but his hands were sometimes at fault .sx WELSH PACK STAYS BETTER .sx There was very little difference between the packs except as regards Davey , Bonaventura , and Swayne .sx The first named was on the slow side and Swayne was probably handicapped by being short-sighted .sx The Welsh wingers , though perhaps not always too intelligent , were too alert for their opponents .sx England got the ball more often , but it is a fact too often lost sight of that it really does not matter so much which side gets the ball more than the other as which does most with the ball when it has got it .sx Here the palm must be given to Wales unsparingly .sx The Welsh eight lasted better , perhaps , than their opponents .sx Among old hands there was much curiosity to observe how the International Board's ruling that the half-backs must " stand to " the scrum and place the ball in it would work .sx There can be no question that on this form it is a very good rule .sx I wish I was able to divulge the name of the official responsible for it , but I have not yet got his permission to do so .sx The result leaves France at the head of the poll , so a great responsibility rests with Scotland next Saturday .sx The Welsh scorers were Powell ( goal from a mark) .sx Jones-Davies ( try ) , and Morley ( try ) , and Burland ( who converted his own try ) and Black ( two penalty goals ) scored for England .sx UNITED PUT UP A GREAT FIGHT .sx Luck Not on Their Side at St. James's Park .sx WARBURTON'S TWO .sx Newcastle United 4 , Manchester United 3 .sx It seems very much as though Newcastle United have knocked the last nail in the relegation coffin of Manchester United by their 4-3 victory at St. James's Park yesterday , but the losers made a great fight of it , and had the luck of the game been with them they might easily have shared the points .sx They were very unfortunate in the first half when in front of goal , while added to this two easy goals by Newcastle might have been averted had the visitors' defence not left themselves wide apart as the poles .sx Manchester United fought back very courageously - they were fighting all the game - and it was touch and go in the last 10 minutes whether they equalised or not .sx