Tuesday 19 February 2019 11:06, UK
Scotland prop Simon Berghan feels his Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill has given his game the edge he needs when he faces the French pack on Saturday.
Edinburgh have beaten French opposition three times this season - Toulon home and away and Montpellier at Murrayfield - to progress to the quarter-finals of the Heineken Champions Cup.
Berghan accepts Saturday's Guinness Six Nations clash at the Stade de France is a tougher assignment still, but the 28-year-old is a more confident player thanks to Cockerill's influence over the last 18 months.
"He has possibly given me a little bit of an edge," the New Zealand native said.
"I enjoy training, we train hard. We sort of train harder than the games, so you are really well prepared to play that game at the weekend.
"I think he has possibly toughened me up, I'm not sure. He has influenced us all really well, as a pack especially.
"He just wants an abrasive pack, an abrasive team, and that's how we train and play. I think it's probably something we have all had, but it's something he really pushes and it's probably what has got us as far as we have, especially in the European Cup.
"Playing these big teams, these big packs, these French sides and being able to match them up front.
"We are not the biggest side in the world, we are certainly not the heaviest side in the world, but we can match them all physically. That's something we have shown and that's one of our characteristics, something we value in our team at Edinburgh."
Berghan added: "Traditionally you look at the French being a big, heavy scrum. They focus on their scrum and as a tighthead it's a good challenge.
"My first cap was away to France and it was a baptism of fire, but I enjoyed it. I was literally thrown in at the deep end, a scrum on the five-metre line was my first job.
"Where I am in my career, they are the sort of challenges I need to be taking on and doing well in.
"I relish those challenges now. My first five or so games, I struggled with but now I am becoming comfortable. I suppose it's the same as anything. It was the same with Edinburgh, once you have a few games under your belt you are more comfortable and settled."
Scotland suffered defeat against Ireland last time out and have not won in Paris for 20 years.
Stand-off Finn Russell is an injury doubt with a head knock with fellow backs Stuart Hogg and Huw Jones already ruled out on top of a number of other injury problems in the pack especially.
But Berghan said: "Edinburgh have proven we can go away to those big places and win. I think France will be a different challenge, but we'll go confident, we will go prepared.
"We believe we can win every game we play and that's something that Edinburgh and Cockers have really pushed, that we go to win every game.
"It's no different here. We are preparing to win the game and that's what I believe we are going to do."
