Gregor Townsend enters war of words with Fabien Galthié

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The France head coach had raised the issue earlier in the week while naming his starting XV for Saturday’s match, criticising the facilities provided to the visiting team.

"You have to know that, for me, this is the smallest changing room in the world. I mean, we change in the corridors. We have to call a spade a spade. They force us to change in the corridors," Galthié said.

He continued: “We keep asking if they can give us the next room, which is available and is normally the other part of the changing room. Well, we don’t have it. So we continue to change in the corridor for an international match. The referees’ changing room, which is right next to ours, is bigger. So it sets the tone. We know what we’re getting into as soon as we arrive at the stadium.”

Townsend, however, appeared largely unmoved when asked about the remarks during Thursday’s press conference.

"The French have a large staff, that's part of the problem in my opinion. But it's not my job," the Scotland coach said.

The former Scotland fly-half also suggested the issue was unlikely to concern the players themselves.

"I don't think the players worry much about it. I've been in a lot of locker rooms. I'm not going to name them, but we know which ones are small. And it doesn't really bother the players."

The visiting dressing room at Murrayfield is well known for its unusual design. Former Scotland coach Jim Telfer, who led the team to the Grand Slam in 1984, had a large pillar installed in the middle of the room — about three feet wide and stretching from floor to ceiling — with the intention of disrupting the visiting side’s sense of cohesion.

The idea was to make the stadium a more intimidating environment for opponents, even before they reached the pitch.

"I believe this is the first time that opponents have publicly complained about the away dressing room," Townsend added, expressing surprise at the controversy.

"This is the locker room Edinburgh uses every week. It's a locker room every opposing team has used for the last 20 years."

He finished with a wry remark: "If it sets the tone, that's interesting… Apparently, the media has more power than the French team."