A REAL KICK IN THE TEETH

Finn fluffs his lines as French fly-half Lopez sticks the boot into weak Scottish scrum

SCOTLAND were left to rue a missed opportunity to win in Paris for the first time since 1999 in a pulsating end to a thrilling Six Nations weekend.

Yet while disappointed in defeat, Vern Cotter’s men exited the French capital last night with their reputation intact. In a bruising encounter, Scotland were at times heroic in defence, but they will rue how quickly they let the initiative slip each time they went ahead.

Fine margins decide matches at this level — and there will be a sense of deep frustration that Scotland came down on the wrong side of the line on this occasion.

They outscored France by two tries to one, with the home side having to rely on the kicking expertise of fly-half Camille Lopez to guide them to victory.

The 17-point haul from Lopez owed much to Scottish indiscipline at the breakdown and to a scrum which was emphatically outmuscled to the concession of six penalties.

A losing bonus point was scant reward for Scotland’s efforts. Yet how important that could prove to be at the end of the Championship.

This was a war of attrition as both sides fought for each and every yard. The sound of fans wincing upon the impact of tackles became a common prelude to players gingerly checking their bone structure was still present and correct. It was that kind of game.

For Cotter’s side to run the French so close after losing captain Greig Laidlaw, stand-in skipper John Barclay, back-row John Hardie and hooker Fraser Brown to injury at key moments was a Herculean effort. An already tough assignment became Scotland’s Everest.

Would they — could they — have triumphed had those players stayed on the field? That debate will rumble on for some time.

A match that was billed as French brawn against Scottish flair lived up to that tag. Stuart Hogg, who scored a try on his 50th cap, was the most attack-minded player on either side. Centre Huw Jones was an incisive presence, while winger Tommy Seymour created a try for Tim Swinson with a clever kick.

Finn Russell worked hard to find gaps and pockets of space to work in, although he seemed to struggle after the early exit of his fellow half-back Laidlaw through injury.

Handed kicking duties in the captain’s absence, he would have been kept awake last night by his role in the farcical moment of madness that followed Swinson’s try under the posts.

With assistant coach Nathan Hines badgering him to rush his kick in fear of referee Jaco Peyper returning to the video review for a perceived infringement in the build-up to the score, Russell felt compelled to swing his boot just as the ball fell from the kicking tee.

A video review cannot take place after a conversion has been taken. It was why Hines was so anxious Russell completed the task in jig time. How foolish they all looked when the ball took to the air with all the enthusiasm of a burst balloon and careered into the French players standing under the posts.

In the aftermath, the Scotland team insisted the incident had no bearing on the outcome of the match. But it would have put them into a five-point lead — a position of considerable command — and would have rattled French nerves.

In a game of such fine margins, it was surely a psychological blow to the men in blue and a huge boost for the home side.

France had taken an early lead in the match after a fast and furious start, with the boot of stand-off Lopez sending over a penalty.

But Scotland were taking the encounter to their hosts with some daring running — and their first try showed the attacking force they have become under Cotter.

They patiently went through 15 phases of play before Laidlaw fed Jones with a killer pass. He linked with Hogg and, with Hamish Watson outside, he had options with the try line in view. Would he pass or go for the corner himself? France fly-half Baptiste Serin had no idea and made a poor attempt to keep the Scotland full-back out as he dived over the line.

The conversion was agonisingly just outside of Laidlaw’s range as his kick came back off the post and, after Scotland failed to gather the restart, Lopez put over another penalty.

With the game on a knife-edge, the last thing Scotland wanted was for their talismanic leader to fall victim to injury. Yet when Alex Dunbar fell on to Laidlaw’s ankle, the Scotland skipper crumbled. He would watch the rest of the match from the sidelines, his damaged ankle encased in a protective boot.

By now, the Scottish players were falling like flies. Barclay took over the captain’s responsibilities but succumbed to injury himself just 10 minutes later. His replacement Hardie was only on the field for five minutes before he was heading back in the direction from which he came with a head knock.

Perhaps taking advantage of the confusion, France scored their one and only try of the afternoon as Scott Spedding played in Gael Fickou to drive through Hogg and Sean Maitland. Lopez’s conversion stretched the French lead.

Russell’s penalty as the interval approached cut the half-time deficit to just two points and allowed fans to draw breath and players to rest their battered limbs.

Emboldened and refreshed, the Scots began the second period with new purpose, and the quick-thinking of Seymour resulted in their second try. Fine work from Russell allowed the winger to kick long into French territory.

Sensing Spedding was confused running at pace towards his own line, Seymour benefitted from the bounce of the ball to play in the galloping Swinson to score under the posts.

Scottish cheer was punctured by Russell’s gaffe and somewhat emboldened the French as they began to turn the screw. Centre Remi Lamerat could have made the game safe but failed to get downward pressure on the ball when he was over the line.

Perhaps the comic cuts were catching.

With ten minutes left, Scotland were still in the mix. The game could have gone either way. It was a time for cool heads amid the chaos. Sadly, they were French.

The usually-reliable Richie Gray lost his discipline and gave away a vital penalty at the breakdown. Lopez took full advantage.

Simon Berghan was then penalised at the scrum. Once again, Lopez was the grateful recipient.

With six points to chase, only a converted try would do. Hogg so nearly broke through but, as the ball was snatched from his hands, so, too, the game slipped from Scotland’s grasp.

The French celebrations showed how much the win meant to them. Scotland’s broken bodies around the field only summed up the pain of defeat.