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France come out top in kicking battle to beat Scotland at Murrayfield

Richard Bath
·24 min read
Vakatawa crosses the line for the decisive score at Murrayfield  - REUTERS
Vakatawa crosses the line for the decisive score at Murrayfield - REUTERS

Scotland's dreams of a first six in a row sequence since 1990 may have crumbled at Murrayfield, but Gregor Townsend's side lived up to their boast that they would, at the very least, be difficult to beat. France were made to work ferociously hard for this win, with only Virimi Vakatawa's try shortly after the break separating two well-matched. Even then Scotland could still have salvaged a draw had they not squandered two late chances of a lineout drive try. The Scots almost certainly face a trip to Dublin for the third-fourth place play-off in a fortnight's time.

“It was an arm-wrestle that was going to be decided by one or two moments, and them scoring their try was the difference,” said Townsend. “We made some errors, but them being ahead on the scoreboard with a wet ball was crucial, we just couldn't ever get ahead. It's always frustrating when you lose and don't play your best but our players showed real character and toughness once again.”

Scotland held their own during a frantic but open first half that ebbed and flowed before ending with honours even at 12 points apiece. It was, however, crucially France who continually made the running, launching an assault on the Scotland 22 from the kick-off and going 6-0 up after just eight minutes through two Thomas Ramos penalties. France were never to go behind.

That difficult start could have been worse for Scotland, with the second penalty coming after the Scots infringed and Matthieu Jalibert took advantage of the free shot to thread through a beautiful grubber kick, with referee Wayne Barnes viewing several replays on the big screen before deciding that Blair Kinghorn had just beaten Vakatawa to the touchdown.

It was an inauspicious start for the Scots, but their captain Stuart Hogg spoke all week about how Scotland's primary objective is to be hard to beat and he was as good as his word. His side kicked to France's back three to establish field position and pursued a high tempo pick-and-go game despite the French back row turning the breakdown into a chaotic battlefield. The result was two Duncan Weir penalties as Scotland drew back onto level terms.

France kept edging ahead, only to be reeled in by their hosts. A Jalibert drop-goal after a superb Ramos run was countered by another long-range Weir penalty after Dylan Cretin failed to roll away. That was followed by another Ramos penalty after Fagerson was scragged from the resulting kick-off, with Weir once again kicking Scotland level just before half-time when France yet again went off their feet at a ruck.

But if Scotland showed deep reservoirs of resolve and character to continually drag themselves back onto level terms, there were also signs that the French were stressing the home side's defences. In the final move before half-time, the French scrum shunted back the Scottish pack at an indecent speed to win a penalty. Scotland defended the subsequent lineout drive and a succession of breakdowns with an almost frenzied intensity, causing the French to knock on, yet the impression remained that the elastic was being stretched to breaking point.

Scotland's five-match winning streak came to and end thanks to a solid display from France  - GETTY IMAGES
Scotland's five-match winning streak came to and end thanks to a solid display from France - GETTY IMAGES

It snapped moments after the break, the influential Jalibert flicking a lovely inside ball to the onrushing Vincent Rattez, the wing brushing aside Weir's attempted tackle and breaking into Scotland's backfield before feeding Vakatawa, who outpaced Kinghorn to crash over carrying Hogg on his back. That is the second match in succession where a try has come down Weir's channel, and this time it was the difference between the sides.

France could have extended their lead shortly afterwards had Vakatawa used his overlap rather than gone on his own, a rare case of France getting into Scotland's 22 and coming away without any points.

After Weir and Ramos swapped penalties – it was the Scot's ninth consecutive success – Scotland had their chances, notably a lineout on the French line in the dying moments which George Turner overthrew, and then, with the last kick of the match when a horrified Hogg kicked a penalty dead instead of into the corner for a chance of a lineout drive try.

That failure to turn rare opportunities into points summed up a day of frustrations on which Scotland were never in control of proceedings. Yet, for all the flaws, they did go down fighting, just as they promised they would.

Match details

Scotland: S Hogg (capt); B Kinghorn (S Maitland. 61), C Harris, S Johnson (D Taylor, 72), D van der Merwe; D Weir, A Price; O Kebble (J Bhatti, 67), F Brown (G Turner, 67), S Berghan (Z Fagerson, 42), S Cummings, J Gray (S Skinner, 67), J Ritchie, H Watson (B Thomson, 61), M Fagerson.

France: T Ramos; T Thomas, V Vakatawa, G Fickou, V Rattez (A Vincent, 70); M Jalibert, A Dupont; J Gros (C Baille, 53), C Chat (J Marchand, 53), D Bamba (M Haouas, 55), B Le Roux, R Taofifenua (P Willemse, 62), D Cretin, C Ollivon (capt), G Alldritt.

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

Scoring sequence: pen Ramos 0-3; pen Ramos 0-6; pen Weir 3-6; pen Weir 6-6; drop goal Jalibert 6-9; pen Weir 9-9; pen Ramos 9-12; pen Weir 12-12; try Vakatawa 12-17; con Ramos 12-19; pen Weir 15-19; pen Ramos 15-22.

05:20 PM

Gregor Townsend's post-match chat

"The players are down. You learn in defeats. We had the character to come back in the last few minutes but couldn’t make it count. [The next match] will be touch whoever it is against, England, Ireland or Wales. But we’re tough to beat and we hope to make the effort count."

05:19 PM

Autumn Nations Cup ramifications

Scotland’s hopes of claiming first place in Group B now depend on Italy winning for only the second time against France on French soil. 

05:09 PM

Vakatawa, the man of the match, speaks

"So happy for the win, we have been working hard for the past few weeks. We knew it was going to be tough, but stuck to our game plan and scored the try."

05:05 PM

Not a spectacle

That was a bit of an arm wrestle which France just edged. Scotland made one too many mistakes and just couldn’t break down the French defence. 

France shaded the kicking contest and won, ultimately, due to the one bit of attacking brilliance which saw Vakatawa - who was named man of the match - cross the line just after the break.

05:02 PM

FULL TIME: Scotland 15-22 France

Vakatawa penalised for not rolling away and Scotland have a last-ditch chance to get the try and possibly the draw. Hogg, however, misses the corner and kicks too long. 

05:00 PM

79 mins: Scotland 15-22 France

Scotland are in the French half but try as they might cannot create an opening - the France defence has been solid and smart. Barnes blows up for crossing and the visitors can clear their lines again. 

04:58 PM

77 mins: Scotland 15-22 France

Ritchie gives away  penalty for not getting out the way at the breakdown. Ramos hits it from 54 yards and it falls short.

04:56 PM

75 mins: Scotland 15-22 France

Hogg kicks deep into the France and Scotland win a lineout despite  Fickou being pushed by Duhan Van der Merwe. In the end, it doesn't matter as Scotland cannot capitalise and France win a penalty.

04:53 PM

73 mins: Scotland 15-22 France

This game has become a bit scrappy now, mistakes are being made and it’s hard to see how Scotland come back, even though there’s only a seven-point gap. 

There’s another scrum and this time Barnes awards Scotland the penalty. Does anyone really have a clue what goes on up front? 

Taylor comes on for Johnson in the Scotland centre. 

04:50 PM

70 mins: Scotland 15-22 France

Scotland have a scrum 35 yards out a decent platfrom from which to attack. BUT France dominate up front again and Barnes awards the French a penalty, a big call there from the referee. 

04:48 PM

67 mins: Scotland 15-22 France

Scotland finally apply a bit of pressure on the French this half. They’re in Les Bleus half for a few minutes. It’s a seven-point game with 12 minutes to go and they need to roll the dice here with the French defence looking solid. 

Skinner and Turner are on for Grey and Brown for Scotland.

04:44 PM

63 mins: Scotland 15-22 France

Scotland make two changes as Sean Maitland and Blade Thomson come on as the hosts try to reduce this match. 

04:42 PM

Vakatawa time

04:42 PM

Penalty for France: Scotland 15-22 France

France’s long stay in the Scotland 22 does yield some points but it’s three rather than five or seven, as Ramos slots home a penalty following more desperate defence from the Scots. 

04:39 PM

58 mins: Scotland 15-19 France

France attack down the left, Vakatawa goes for the line but is repelled. Ficou then dives for the line but is stopped. They have an advantage and ultimately Jalibert decides to use the cross field kick for Thomas, but it is intercepted and Barnes tells the French the advantage was over must to the visitors’ dismay. 

04:35 PM

54 mins: Scotland 15-19 France

France make a few changes with fatigue setting in - Cyril Baille and Julien Marchand are on for Chat and Gros. A front row reshuffle continues with Mohamed Haouas also now on. 

04:32 PM

51 mins: Scotland 15-19 France

Lineout malefaction from France gives Scotland an attacking platform . Kinghorn finally has a chance to run with the ball he breaks the line but France’s defence does its job forcing a knock on and  the French can clear their lines. 

04:29 PM

48 mins: Scotland 15-19 France

Ollivon is having another big game here but the France No.8 makes his side’s fifth handling error of the match. And Scotland have a scrum when the French were looking to attack their opponent’s 22. 

04:27 PM

Penalty for Scotland: Scotland 15-19 France

Good response from the hosts. Weir slots over after Barnes gives Scotland a penalty for offside. 

04:22 PM

Try for France: Scotland 12-19 France

Great try - the first line break of the match. From a scrum on the halfway line Fickou releases Rattez with a great offload in midfield. Rattez then plays in Vakatawa who powers over the line despite a good tackle from Hogg. 

Ramos adds the two points. 

04:19 PM

40 mins: Scotland 12-12 France

How will either side get their runners into the game? Part of me thinks maybe they don’t want to - let the other team have it, break first and make the mistakes.

04:11 PM

HALF TIME: Scotland 12-12 France

It was a fast-moving game with both sides seemingly picking up points whenever they visited  the opposition's half. There have been very few line-breaks, it's been dominated by big hits in the midfield and not a match to re-watch. 

It's been evenly matched and considering the scoreline the French decision to kick for the corner rather than take the points just before half-time was rather strange. 

04:06 PM

A dying art

04:05 PM

HALF TIME: Scotland 12-12 France

France have a penalty after a big push at the scrum and decide to kick to the corner rather than for goal. From the attacking lineout the French pack work the ball towards the line, desperate Scottish defence does its job and they hold the ball up and Barnes whistles for the break. 

Great work from the hosts there, will that prove to be a ket moment come the final whistle? 

04:02 PM

39 mins: Scotland 12-12 France

Camille Chat appears to lead with his forearm when fending off Jonny Gray. It’s the sort of challenge that goes unnoticed it real time but when slowed down looks bad. It’s also the sort of challenge that World Rugby are trying to clamp down on. It’s touch and go but from the side angle it’s a bracing action rather than leading with the forearm so Chat stays on the pitch. 

03:57 PM

Penalty for Scotland: Scotland 12-12 France

Scotland have an advantage, Weir kicks for Kinghorn in the corner it does work and the hosts have another penalty. 

Weir makes it 12 apiece. 

The ball is a bit slippery and the result is that the wingers are not seeing the ball. Teddy Thomas hasn’t touched it yet and Kinghorn for Scotland must have touched it once at most. 

03:52 PM

30 mins: Scotland 9-12 France

It’s deja-va as France this time make a mistake from the kick-off Le Rous knocks on and it’s great attacking platform for Scotland. 

From the scrum Johnson hits a crash ball, Scotland go down the blindside before going the other way, Weir then knocks on and the chance is gone. Frustrating for the Scots as they managed to generate some quick ball but were not able to capitalise. 

03:49 PM

Penalty for France: Scotland 9-12 France

Straight from the restart Scotland do not clear way and it’s a penalty for France. Ramos doesn’t miss from in front of the posts. 

Townsend shakes his head and well he might, that was stupid from the hosts. 

03:47 PM

Penalty for Scotland: Scotland 9-9 France

Wayne Barnes is being very clear - if the tackler does not get the well out of the breakdown quickly, then he’s blowing the whistle. France again cannot work this out and Weir slots over for the their time today. 

Once again it’s all square…

03:44 PM

Young gun

03:43 PM

Drop goal for France: Scotland 6-9 France

This has been a great response from Townsend's men. France started brightly but Scotland hit back well, playing the match in the French half and picking up the two penalties. 

France work the ball into the Scottish 22 and they telegraph the drop goal for Jalibert and the youngster makes no mistake to give France the lead again. Impressive start from Ntamack's replacement. 

03:39 PM

Penalty for Scotland: Scotland 6-6 France

Scotland are finding more opportunities and the pack is working hard, picking up the ball up and driving at the France defence. It's another infringement from the visitors, Alldritt failing to get away from the tackle,  and Scotland have another chance to slot home. 

Weir makes no mistake from 35 yards and it's all square. 

03:35 PM

Penalty for Scotland: Scotland 3-6 France

France have started well, they are winning most of the collisions and Dupont is creating havoc at the base of the base of the scrum. Scotland, though, win a penalty deep in their half and kick for touch. They now have a platform from which to attack. 

From the resulting lineout they threaten the French line for the first time, it's solid defence from the visitors, but Scotland win the penalty in front of the posts and they have, through the boot of Weir,  three points. Good response from the hosts. 

03:28 PM

Penalty for France: Scotland 0-6 France

France are deep in Scotland's 22, they have a penalty advantage as Vakatawa goes over the whitewash in the left corner. The on field decision is no try and the TMO agrees - he didn't have control of the ball and it goes back for the penalty and Ramos again slots home. 

03:25 PM

6 mins: Scotland 0-3 France

It's a kicking game at the moment - so shocks there. Weir is trying to put pressure on the French back three, but the young trio are looking confident. 

03:23 PM

5 mins: Scotland 0-3 France

From the restart Scotland make good ground, the ball goes down the backline, but France's defence is firm,  Weir kicks over the top and Jalibert kicks long into touch. 

03:21 PM

3 mins: Scotland 0-3 France

There's an early exchange of kicks - as expected - and France have the first lineout. Early pressure from the visitors, they have won every collision and it's an early penalty to the French. 

Ramos slots home and it's advantage France. 

03:20 PM

1 min: Scotland 0-0 France

Jalibert gets a good confidence-boosting first tough getting under a high ball. France will miss Ntamack but the 22-year-old is talented and it will be interesting to see how he does. 

 

03:15 PM

The teams are out...

...and the national anthems have been sung.

I am a big fan of both these stirring songs, both definitely in the top 10 of national anthems, it's just a shame a packed Murrayfield cannot join in the renditions. 

If this match was simply a battle of voices the Scots would have edged it. Perhaps the French saving their energy for the match? 

03:08 PM

The rest of the world have been warned

Galthie has brought together a strong coaching team behind him, including team manager Raphael Ibanez, the man who won  three Grand Slams as a player with France while also captaining the side to the 1999 Rugby World Cup final.

When asked about this France side, he said...

“I know we should expect some set-backs in the future, but the main message we wanted to send out to other teams is, 'we’re back'. Of course, we know we have a few areas we need to address, we especially conceded too many penalties in the games against Wales and Ireland for example. But we wanted this French team to be very hard to play, hard to deal with. And offensively, to create some chaos, some trouble for the best defensive set-ups. That’s the main goal for us.”

03:01 PM

No more Mr Nice Guy

It wasn’t long ago that Scotland were known as a good side to watch - partly due to the mercurial Finn Russell at fly-half - but a bit of a soft touch. They could score plenty but were likely to concede even more. 

This year, however, has seen a metamorphosis and become very hard to beat. In this year’s Six Nations Gregor Townsend’s team posted the most miserly defensive figures in the history of the competition - conceding 59 points. 

The change might not be one for the neutral fans but it’s one that the whole side, even the attacking Stuart Hogg, are behind. 

The full-back said…

“We want to be tough to beat and to fight for absolutely everything that we can. We want people to be getting off the deck and smashing lumps out of guys, going time after time after time. Teams will break down eventually. If we continue to go after them, they’ll get bored and kick us the ball. That’s what we want. Any time France kick on Sunday, we’ll see that as a little victory because they no longer want to attack.”

Here’s Richard Bath’s report on how Scotland became dominant in defence.

02:53 PM

Gregor Townsend speaks....

On the cancelled Fiji match…

“It’s disappointing to know we won’t play the last game [against Fiji] but we’ve been focusing on this game.”

On the challenge France pose…

“We know what a big challenge France are. It will always be a big challenge physically against the French, we’ll have to be at our best to win.”

On way Scots will play the game…

“We have to make sure we don’t give them them easy opportunities. They’ve been pragmatic this year and looked to counter attack. We have to make sure our defence is solid. It could be an arm wrestle with a lot of kicking."

On his hopes of victory…

“This is a big opportunity to keep momentum going but also to get into the Autumn Nations Cup final."

02:45 PM

Are the French back?

One of the biggest sporting cliches of the past 30 years must be ‘it all depends on which France turns up’. Known as a side capable of fantastic flair, brutality and moments of madness in equal measure, Les Bleus aren’t strangers to either stunning success or shocking defeats. 

In truth France as a rugby force have been in the wilderness for a decade, without a championship title since 2010. 

This side, however, looks different and Bernard Laporte, the current president of the France Rugby Union and former head coach, believes that “a sense of hope and possibility” has been restored to French rugby by the exploits of the new generation.

He told Telegraph Sport...

"Yes, let us hope we have laid that cliche (of not knowing which French side will turn up) to rest.“The last 10 years has not been good enough for French rugby. We have had too many foreigners in the game, our players in general have not been fit enough, the coaching support staff for Les Bleus was too threadbare, our style has been random and confused, our young players were not getting enough opportunity to prosper – there were a lot of issues there.“We believe now that we have made a start in resolving things, to give us some hope for the future, an air of positivity and of possibility. “The national team are the shop window, or the locomotive if you like, the engine that drives so much, that pulls everything along behind. We have to rise again.”

Read more of what Laporte had to say here. 

02:31 PM

Galthie's guys

France coach Fabien Galthie has made eight changes to the team that beat Ireland in the Six Nations, three weeks ago.

Matthieu Jalibert comes in at fly-half in the absence of the injured Romain Ntamack, while Thomas Ramos is in for the injured Anthony Bouthier at full-back.

Following an agreement between the French federation and the Top 14, each player can be named on no more than three teamsheets during the November-December period, and Galthie has decided to bring in some of his usual replacements - or 'finishers' as he calls them - for the trip to Scotland.

The front row has been completely revamped, with Jean-Baptiste Gros, Camille Chat and Demba Bamba all start at the front of the pack. 

That means that Mohamed Haouas, the prop turned boxer who was sent off when these sides played in March starts on the bench. 

02:21 PM

The Scotland team is....

Gregor Townsend has made five changes to the side that beat Italy last week.

Townsend will hope to put the brakes on a team he believes is in better form than even the All Blacks at present and  as such has named  a new front row -  Oli Kebble, Fraser Brown and Simon Berghan  will be at the coal face this afternoon..

Matt Fagerson is next to be given the chance to stake a claim for the problematic No 8 spot after Blade Thomson did little to show he is the long-term solution at the back of the scrum.

The only change in the backs sees winger Blair Kinghorn replace Edinburgh team-mate Darcy Graham.

Saracens duo Sean Maitland and Duncan Taylor - who last featured for Scotland against Russia in the 2019 World Cup - find themselves on the bench.

02:04 PM

Hello and welcome!

After England’s dominant 18-7 victory over Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday you don’t have to be wearing Red Rose-tinted specs to argue that Eddie Jones’ team are currently the best in the world. BUT this match offers up two teams also on the rise. 

The French, who some would say (understandably, considering their impressive victory over England back in February) were the best side in the Six Nations, look very much the coming side in the northern hemisphere. In Antoine Dupont at scrum half they have the best player in this year’s Six Nations and across the XV they are oozing class. In addition to the wonderful Dupont they have Romain Ntamack and Virimi Vakatawa in the backs, and in the pack they can call upon Charles Ollivon and Gregory Alldritt in the back row, to name only four.

Alas, today they will be without Ntamack - the fly-half didn’t travel to Edinburgh due to a thigh injury. In his place Bordeaux's Matthieu Jalibert starts - the No.10 is just 22, an illustration of the youthful nature of the French starting XV and squad. 

The Scots have very quietly gone about changing their approach and setting their stall, in much the same way as the French have, this year. They have won five matches on the bounce and should they make it six at Murrayfield today, it will be their longest streak since 1990.

The answer as to how they have done this is pretty simple and not overly entertaining: defence. 

 Mohammed Haouas punches - GETTY IMAGES

Having been the side that simply approached games in a ‘we’ll score more than you’ manner - good for the neutral fans but not so much the coaching staff - Gregor Townsend has turned the side around from one that was shocked against Japan at last year’s World Cup into one that is very hard to beat. 

One of the teams they saw off in their five-match winning streak was France, beaten 28-17 back in March, the match that killed off hopes of the Grand Slam for Les Bleus. Much was made of the red card dished out to Mohamed Haouas in that match - the prop given his marching orders for punching Scottish flanker Jamie Ritchie in the 37th minute - but Stuart Hogg claims Scotland would have beaten the French regardless of that bout of boxing. 

“I’ve read a fair bit this week about how the red card changed the game,” said the incredulous Scotland captain. “Have you ever seen a French team rattled like that before? That happened because we fronted up, got in their faces, got stuck into them. I don’t think they’d ever come across anything like that. So this time around we’ll be doing the same.”

It could be a feisty affair then, stay here for all the pre-match analysis and to find out if fists will be flying once again.