AS Scotland try to shrug off the loss of Finn Russell, their playmaker fly-half, for their French Test on Saturday, it seems that Peter Horne is currently in pole position to take over the pivotal role.

Certainly that was the broad hint from Sean Maitland, the 38-cap wing as he gave his vote of confidence to all the candidates to take over the role.

"With Horney [Peter Horne] coming in – or Duncy [Duncan Weir] or Hasto [Adam Hastings] or whoever – we have three talented guys who can come in and execute the game plan," he said before it was announced that Weir would not be involved and had been released back to Worcester Warriors.

"The last two days we’ve been playing well. At least it’s better than the Australia game where Hoggy [Stuart Hogg] went down in the warm-up and I ended up at full-back.

"I’ve got full confidence in whoever gets picked to fill Finn’s shoes. You’ve got to have depth. That’s one thing that people say Scotland is lacking – that depth in certain positions.

"It’s important that in World Cup year these guys step up and take responsibility."

Though Scotland lost at home to Ireland in their last game and have not won in Paris for 20 years, Maitland reckons they are close to the level they need to be to reverse both statistics.

That is despite the horrendous injury list, standing at 19 when Scotland went into the Six Nations period. Since then seven have returned to action, though the likes of Richie Gray have been deemed too rusty after a lengthy lay-off to return to the squad. But they have also added nine to it, including Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell.

The problem for Maitland and his teammates is not just that has cost them a lot of flair but also a lot of experience and leadership. Hogg was a team vice-captain, for example, while Ryan Wilson, another to drop out, is one of Glasgow Warriors' co-captains.

"We’ve lost some big personalities, a lot of leadership and a lot of caps from our team," Maitland acknowledged. "If you look at the guys that are out at the moment it’s crazy to think how many leaders are missing.

"One thing we have, though, is the Thistle group, where the boys meet up twice a week to discuss everything both on and off the field. We have Greig [Laidlaw] who plays a big role in the leadership and he’s done a great job. Finn is still floating about – he’s still having input into our attack. It’s good that he’s still in camp.

"Horney [Peter Horne] and Hasto [Adam Hastings] have been added to the leadership group. I’m not involved – I’m just the quiet guy."

Scotland come into the match knowing that in their last game they matched Ireland in most phases of play but a handful of individual lapses let the opposition in for enough scores to snatch the result.

"There was a lot of effort in the Ireland game," Maitland said. "Our defence was great for 95 per cent of the game it was just that 5% where we weren’t there. Ireland are a world-class team and that will expose you if you slip off.

"The big thing for me is just finishing our chances when we get down to their 22. In that first half especially, we had three or four times where we got to the 22 and we just needed to convert. The effort was there but finishing our chances is the big one."

A repeat of those mistakes in Paris could again be costly. France may have lost both their opening games but there were signs of their ability in both – particularly in the first half against Wales, when they built up a 16-0 lead before imploding after the break.

On top of that, they have reverted to a more orthodox selection with France's Yoann Huget shifting from full-back to his club position on the wing, clearing the way for Thomas Ramos to start at full-back, the position he occupies for Toulouse week-in, week-out.

That alone should go a long way to nullifying the frailty against the kicking game that hurt them so badly against England and Maitland knows all about the threats they pose.

"There’s been a lot of focus on who France are playing, particularly in their backline," he said. "There are a lot of teams who are using their kicking game as an attacking weapon, so you’ve seen a lot of tries being scored, especially the way England have been playing with these little grubbers through.

"They have named a new full-back and I’m sure they’ve been preparing over the last two weeks and looking at what they need to improve on. We’re not going to start kicking everything at the Stade de France.

"France are under the pump from their media so they have a lot to prove, so the first 15 minutes is huge for us. They will fly at us from the start."