Duncan Weir went from hero to goat after throwing a horrific intercept pass that all but handed the game to France in a predictably sluggish match at Murrayfield. Perhaps that’s being a bit harsh, the first half was surprisingly entertaining in parts, but neither side looked anything close to cohesive. The French were clueless on attack and shambolic at the lineout, and yet Scotland continued make poor decisions or needles penalties.
Stuart Hogg’s try early on was fortunate but just rewards for his ambition. He is a classy player in a rudderless team and it must be frustrating at the best of times. Tommy Seymour’s try was well taken, and the Scots have looked dangerous out wide, but getting the ball there seems to be the big issue. Weir’s pass was the type of schoolboy error that would have any backs coach seething, one that was, in essence, a 14 point swing that wasn’t case of bad execution, it was a criminal error in judgement.
France broke the line a couple times, once down the right flank through Yoann Huget and another via the beastly Mathieu Bastareaud, but aside from that were extremely fortunate to get the win. The match winning penalty from Jean-Marc Doussain was a gift from Tim Swinson, who was overzealous at the breakdown when he didn’t need to be. Had the Scots held out Philippe Saint-André would never have cried foul.
Apart from the heartbreak Scotland have lost both Sean Lamont and Johnnie Beattie to injury, and one can only hope and pray that Scott Johnson moves Kelly Brown to no6 where he belongs and brings in a proper openside to face Wales. Chris Fusaro is the most likely candidate but Ross Rennie and John Barclay are both in excellent form and worthy of a shot. Ross Ford’s impact at the scrum might hasten his recall to the first XV as well.
France now have a miraculous opportunity to win the championship if they can beat Ireland at home, though England would have to lose or draw to Italy as they have a significant advantage in points differential. Scotland have avoided the Wooden Spoon but should finish second to the bottom, with even an out-of-form Welsh side too much for them to handle. For fans of either, the end of the tournament cannot come soon enough.
SCOTLAND 17 vs 19 FRANCE
Saturday, March 8, 17:00 GMT, Edinburgh
SCORING
02 mins – M. Machenaud pen 0-3
10 mins – M. Machenaud pen 0-6
12 mins – S. Hogg try 5-6
13 mins – G. Laidlaw con 7-6
16 mins – M. Machenaud pen 7-9
22 mins – T. Seymour try 12-9
23 mins – G. Laidlaw con 14-9
45 mins – Y. Huget try 14-14
46 mins – M. Machenaud con 14-16
62 mins – D. Weir pen 17-16
79 mins – J.M. Doussain pen 17-19
SCOTLAND
S. Hogg; T. Seymour, A. Dunbar, M. Scott, S. Lamont (M. Evans 30); D. Weir, G. Laidlaw; R. Grant, S. Lawson (R. Ford 51), G. Cross; R. Gray, J. Hamilton (T. Swinson 69); J. Beattie (R. Wilson 16), K. Brown (capt.), D. Denton.
FRANCE
B. Dulin; Y. Huget, M. Bastareaud (G. Fickou 69), M. Mermoz, M. Médard; J. Plisson (R. Talès 47), M. Machenaud (J.M. Doussain 75); T. Domingo (V. Debaty 69), B. Mach (G. Guirado 47), N. Mas (R. Slimani 60); P. Papé (capt.), Y. Maestri (A. Flanquart 60); S. Vaha’amahina (A. Claassen 67), A. Lapandry, D. Chouly.
Referee: C. Pollock (NZRU)
Assistants: G. Clancy (IRFU) & J.P. Doyle (RFU)
TMO: G. Simmonds (WRU)
