NEXT STOP DUBLIN
France set themselves up for tilt at Ireland with gritty win
FRANCE set themselves up nicely for their showdown with Six Nations champions Ireland in Dublin next weekend with a gritty victory over Scotland in front of a relieved Stade de France full house yesterday.
However, Ireland coach Joe Schmidt will have spotted plenty of potential weaknesses to exploit in the French armoury, chief among them a failure to get the most out of a backline brimming with attacking menace. Indeed, Scotland can count themselves extremely unlucky after running the French very close in another Paris nail-biter, but a high penalty count struck savagely at their ambition and allowed the hosts to hang on for victory. The Scots have won in Paris on only three occasions in the past 55 years — 1969, 1995 and 16 years ago.
And this game hung in the balance for long spells, the penalty kicks of Camille Lopez just holding the edge over Dougie Fife’s try at the end of the first half. The visitors ran France close at Murrayfield last year, but only six of that team remained for this opener.
The question yesterday was how youngsters Finn Russell, Mark Bennett, Alex Dunbar and Jonny Gray might fare on French soil.
They answered positively, handling the occasion and their opponents well, and proving to be among the brightest of the Scottish performers. Gray started lively by stealing the first of several French lineouts, but his team-mates were not up to speed as Blair Cowan latched onto the loose ball but was penalised for holding on as the French beat the Scots to the ruck.
That gave Camille Lopez a penalty chance inside two minutes, and his kick was on target. It turned out to be a microcosm of the game.
Richie Gray, Rob Harley and Johnnie Beattie were prominent as Scotland hit back to press the French into their 22. The Scots’ kicking game caused the hosts problems and, in the one area the French are always feared at home, the scrum, the Scottish pack held its own and dominated on occasions.
Laidlaw rewarded fine work by Harley and Jonny Gray — the lock was Scotland’s top tackler — in the scrum with a successful penalty to tie the scoreline at 3-3.
But while Scotland knocked France back in the tackle, the French back row — superbly led by Man of the Match Thierry Dusautoir — seized on hesitancy at rucks and referee Nigel Owens’ blasting whistle kept Lopez’ momentum flowing with another converted penalty.
The Scots lost wing Tommy Seymour with a hip injury, Fife replacing him and almost intercepting with his first touch, but continued to take the game to France, Beattie and the tireless Cowan to the fore as the game moved into the second quarter, but there was no reward as Stuart Hogg’s long-range penalty drifted wide.
The full-back then split French forwards Rabah Slimani and Yoann Maestri with an outrageous dummy that roused the Scottish support, and exploded Scotland into the home 22, but again the visitors failed to claim anything tangible.
France pounced on another penalty for offside, Lopez nudging the hosts into a 9-3 lead with two minutes of the first half remaining, but then Dunbar and Bennett opened up France on the left and Hogg got to within a metre of the corner, but, initially denied, Scotland held their nerve, recycled ball, and Euan Murray released Fife into the corner.
Laidlaw’s conversion came back off the post, leaving France with a 9-8 half-time lead. The French were swift to return from the interval, but there was a swagger about Russell and the Scots as they took up their places to resume the battle several minutes later.
However, penalties were still killing Scotland with Lopez kicking another one for 12-8 after 51 minutes. France then introduced their new 6ft 5in 24-stone Samoan/Kiwi prop Uini Atonio and experienced playmaker Morgan Parra to crank up the pressure.
The Scots survived the first wave, but were handicapped when Beattie hit the sin-bin for sacking a French maul, with 18 minutes remaining.
Hearts were in the mouths of both sets of supporters with nine minutes left on the clock when Scotland wing Tim Visser came within inches of intercepting a long French pass, only for Huget to claim it, he seemed certain to score when Bennett dislodged the ball with a desperate lunge, and Scotland survived again.
Still the game hung in the balance as the clock ticked into the last five minutes. Scotland kicked for the corner -and attacked wide off the lineout, but Bennett’s pass went to ground. France worked their way back for another Lopez penalty and that was that.
Plenty of encouragement for Schmidt but he will know also there could be a lot more to come from Philippe Saint-Andre’s side.