France will be hoping to salvage some pride from what has been a dismal Five Nations campaign when they take on Scotland in their final match at the Stade de France this afternoon.

The French went into the tournament aiming for a third straight Grand Slam but a narrow win over Ireland was followed by losses against Wales and England that revealed alarming problems in a World Cup year.

French forward Thomas Lievremont has been forced to pull out of the match. The Perpignan number eight, who is suffering from lumbago, is replaced by Christophe Juillet of Stade Francais. Christian Labit, the Toulouse back-rower, will make his full international against the Scots in a rebuilt pack.

The selectors also named Pau lock Thierry Cleda, a regular bench-warmer, as the replacement for Fabien Pelous, who withdrew earlier in the week with a rib muscle injury.

Scotland's line-up, meanwhile, shows three changes from the side that defeated Ireland 30-13 at Murrayfield last month.

In the front row, David Hilton replaces broken-leg victim Tom Smith at loose-head prop. Budge Pountney comes in for Peter Walton on the blind-side flank while Stuart Reid wins his second cap at number eight. Reid takes the place of Eric Peters, who sustained a fractured knee while playing for Bath last weekend.

Scotland coach Jim Telfer believes speed around the pitch and a slick back division can help the Scots emulate Wales' memorable triumph at the Stade de France last month.

"You have to provide continuity if at all possible and I think most people would agree that the ability of the backs to move the ball well and to support each other has been quite exemplary over the past few months," he said.