John Barclay is ready for special attention this weekend © PA Photos

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Players/Officials: John Barclay

Tournaments/Tours: Six Nations

Teams: France | Scotland

Scotland openside John Barclay is prepared for special attention when he runs out against France in Paris on Saturday.

The Glasgow flanker has become one of the northern hemisphere's most respected back-row operators in recent seasons and is ready to combat a French back-row comprising Thierry Dusautoir, Julien Bonnaire and Imanol Harinordoquy.

Barclay, though, knows if he is the subject for special attention, it will free up his team-mates. "It will maybe make my job slightly harder if teams are going to put slightly more emphasis on that," he said. "But if they're going to put more emphasis on one thing it's going to be missing somewhere else.

"I'll approach every game the same and it's about me doing what I can do, regardless of what's been said or what people are writing about."

Following the autumn internationals, Barclay was the only Scot named in one hypothetical British & Irish Lions team of 2010, as captain. The 24-year-old feels no greater sense of responsibility or expectation as a result of such plaudits, knowing he is only as good as his next performance.

"It's flattering, but I try not to read too much into it," he said. "I know how fickle these sorts of things can be. As a player you don't look too much into that."

It is five years since Scotland's last win over France and 12 since their last in Paris, but Barclay enters this weekend's action with confidence.

"It's going to be hugely physical and something the Scottish guys are relishing," he said. "We're confident in what we're doing. There's a very good feeling in the squad and we fully believe in ourselves.

"But we also know that if we don't play to our potential, things like the result against New Zealand [losing 49-3] will happen. I wouldn't look too far beyond the first game, but we're certainly confident."