GREIG MAKES IT SLOTS BETTER

GREIG LAIDLAW slotted away 22 points on his return to Scotland’s starting line-up as Gregor Townsend’s men kickstarted their campaign.

The home side were under pressure to prove they were genuine contenders after being humiliated by Wales in their opener in Cardiff.

And they did just that, with tries from Sean Maitland and Huw Jones providing the perfect response after Teddy Thomas’ blistering pace had twice cut Scotland apart.

That left the game finely poised in the second half but Laidlaw (above) – making his first Scotland start in a year – booted over all eight of his kicks to breathe fresh life into Scottish championship hopes. Townsend (circled) said: “I’m happier than last week for sure. The effort it takes to win a Test match is huge and doing it from behind shows character.

“We were a bit more direct in the second half and we got our reward. France were excellent at the breakdown, at times they did go off their feet and they got penalised.

Captain John Barclay added: “If you lose the first match, the maths is simple. We knew we had to put in a performance after last week.”