Battling Scots’ comeback win

GREIG LAIDLAW booted 22 points on his return to Scotland’s starting line-up as Gregor Townsend’s men kick-started their NatWest 6 Nations campaign with a 32-26 win over France.

The home side were under pressure to prove they were genuine contenders after being humiliated by Wales in last week’s 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 them apart.

That left the game finely poised in the second half but Laidlaw - making his first Scotland start in a year - slotted over all eight of his kicks to breathe fresh life into Scottish championship hopes. ■■Wasps boss Dai Young said his side’s performance against Harlequins was one of their best of the season as they overcame the early dismissal of Kyle Eastmond to claim a crushing 44-22 victory at the Stoop.

Eastmond was sent off for a dangerous high challenge on Quins’ fly-half Marcus Smith in the 17th minute - a decision Young had no complaints about - but the visitors kept their cool and performed heroics to score six tries.

Thomas Young scored two of them, with Juan De Jongh, Tom Cruse, Josh Bassett and Willie Le Roux also crossing as Wasps moved up to third in the Aviva Premiership.

Young said: “People have questioned our mentality in the past but we showed plenty of bottle and attitude. It’s a win that pleased eHvereyonne.”shaw