France end Scotland’s Grand Slam dreams as two sent off in Paris thriller

Scotland’s hopes of a first Six Nations Grand Slam were ended in Paris as France secured a 32-21 triumph in a match where two players were red-carded.

Gregor Townsend’s men had a disastrous start, conceding a try to Romain Ntamack and seeing Grant Gilchrist sent off for a shoulder to the head of Anthony Jelonch.

Les Bleus then extended their advantage when Ethan Dumortier crossed the whitewash, but the visitors were given hope as Mohamed Haouas was given his marching orders for effectively headbutting Ben White.

Although the French went over for a third time thanks to Thomas Ramos’ score, the visitors began to edge their way back into the contest, and Huw Jones touched down before the break.

Ramos added a three-pointer before Jones crossed the whitewash for the second time to increase the nerves for the French.

And when Finn Russell scored with 13 minutes remaining, Scotland had all the momentum, but the hosts controlled the final stages impressively and sealed the bonus-point win when Gael Fickou crossed the whitewash.

France made the breakthrough in the fifth minute when Ntamack bolted over on the left after being set up by Antoine Dupont, who had collected the ball from the back of a ruck.  Ramos duly kicked the conversion.

Things got worse for the Scots just two minutes later when ― following a TMO review ― Gilchrist was shown a red card for appearing to plant his shoulder in the face of Jelonch.  The Frenchman was forced off to be replaced by Francois Cros.

The hosts made the extra man count within seconds when Dumortier was presented with an easy touchdown on the left after good work by Ntamack and Dupont to create the opening.  Ramos hit the post with his conversion attempt.

With Scotland in danger of being blown away, flanker Hamish Watson was sacrificed in the 10th minute to make way for replacement lock Jonny Gray to come on and fill the void left by Gilchrist.

The eventful start to the match continued in the 12th minute when Frenchman Haouas ― who was red-carded against the Scots in 2020 ― was sent off for flying round the side of a ruck and banging heads with Ben White.

The evening up of the numbers did not halt the hosts, however, and they got their third try of the match in the 19th minute when Ramos seized on a loose pass from Russell inside the Scotland half, and the full-back darted clear down the left before touching down behind the posts.  The try-scorer then added the conversion himself from close range.

Scotland eventually started to settle into the match, and they got their first points on the board in the 26th minute when Jones bounded over after being set up by Russell.

It was always going to be this man…@finn_russell touches down to get @Scotlandteam right back in this. #FRAvSCO pic.twitter.com/VpqeYNvo8a

— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 26, 2023

The French went in at the break with a 15-point advantage after Ramos kicked a penalty in the 36th minute.

Scotland made further inroads into their deficit three minutes into the second half when Jones forced his way over for his second try of the match after being set up by Sione Tuipulotu.  Russell was again on the mark with the conversion.

Another Ramos penalty in the 56th minute edged France 11 points ahead, but the Scots remained in the ascendancy and they got themselves a third try in the 68th minute when Russell reached over after being played in by replacement Ali Price.

The Scots were within four points of what would have been a famous fightback but the French regained their composure in the closing stages, with Fickou scoring a 79th-minute try, converted by Ramos, to put the outcome beyond doubt.

France show their class as they hammer Scotland

France took another ominous step towards a Six Nations Grand Slam as they eased past Scotland at Murrayfield, winning 36-17 on Saturday.

Les Bleus scored six tries in all against their hosts as they exacted revenge over Scotland for their win in Paris last year, with this another big statement.

Paul Willemse, Yoram Moefana, Gael Fickou, Jonathan Danty and Damian Penaud (two) crossed the line while Melvyn Jaminet added three conversions.

For Scotland their tries came via Rory Darge and Duhan van der Merwe in a disappointing showing as they were outclassed by an impressive France side.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, already without Jamie Ritchie, Rory Sutherland, Matt Fagerson and Jonny Gray through injury, lost another key man on the eve of the game after Hamish Watson tested positive for coronavirus.  His place in the XV was taken by Nick Haining, with Andy Christie added to the replacements.

France, backed by a large travelling support on a pleasant late-February afternoon, had Danty back from injury in the only change to the XV that started the victory over Ireland a fortnight previously.

Les Bleus had a great chance to get on the scoreboard in the sixth minute when they won a penalty right in front of the posts, but Jaminet was surprisingly off target with what looked a routine kick.

The breakthrough came for the visitors just two minutes later, however, when Willemse touched down at the end of a scintillating attack down the left flank led by captain Antoine Dupont.  This time Jaminet made no mistake with his kick.

Finn Russell got Scotland off the mark in the 11th minute with a penalty from right in front of the posts after France were penalised for offside.

But within two minutes the French stretched their advantage with another excellent try when Moefana went over the line after an offload by Cyril Baille, who did superbly to keep the attack alive.  Jaminet’s conversion attempt, from a tight angle wide on the right, drifted the wrong side of the posts.

The Scots enjoyed a good spell of pressure and Ali Price thought he had forced the ball down for a try in the 28th minute but the French were deemed to have kept the ball up after a TMO review.

The hosts were not be denied though.  Within seconds of play resuming just in front of the French try-line, Darge darted over after being played in by Price.  Russell was successful with the conversion.

Just as Scotland looked like they were gaining the initiative, Fickou extended the French lead in the last action of the first half with a stunning individual drive over the line, which was converted by Jaminet.

Things got worse for the home side two minutes into the second half when a kick downfield bounced kindly back into the path of Danty and left him with a free run at the line.  Jaminet once again added the extras.

This seemed to knock the stuffing out of Scotland and France added a fifth try just before the hour when Penaud went over on the right.  Jaminet missed his conversion.

Penaud then scored his second try of the match when he ran on to a cross-field kick from Romain Ntamack in the 74th minute, with the conversion attempt again unsuccessful.

Scotland got a late consolation when Van der Merwe went over the line but it was too little, too late on a day when they were emphatically outclassed.

Wales win Six Nations after Scotland stun France

Wales are the 2021 Six Nations champions after France were met by an outstanding Scotland side, who secured their first win in Paris since 1999 following a 27-23 triumph.

France needed to score four tries and beat Scotland by 21 points to deny Wales the title but the visitors stunned their hosts with a superb victory.

Two tries from Duhan van der Merwe and one from replacement hooker Dave Cherry secured Scotland’s first win in Paris in 22 years despite seeing cards for Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell.

Brice Dulin, Damian Penaud and Swan Rebbadj crossed for the hosts but they never looked like building up the head of steam needed to deliver a double blow to Wales after dramatically denying Wayne Pivac’s side the Grand Slam six days earlier.

It was another rare away win for the Scots following triumphs in Wales and England in the past six months.

Scotland were quick to put pressure on and France showed the type of ambition they would need when they took a quick throw and tried to play their way out of trouble after Russell had kicked the ball into touch two metres from their try line.

The home side soon exerted some pressure but all they had to show for it was Romain Ntamack’s ninth-minute penalty.

Scotland soon gained the ascendancy and twice elected to kick two penalties into touch inside the French 22.  Hooker George Turner was held up just short of the line each time as he charged from the back of the lineout maul, but Van der Merwe forced himself over the second time in the 15th minute.

There were suspicions of double movement but referee Wayne Barnes gave the try without opting to take a second look.

Russell added the two points and produced another brilliant long kick which held up a metre short of the try line.  The Scots descended upon their opponents and Jamie Ritchie forced the penalty from Dulin, which Russell kicked over to put Scotland seven points up.

Another huge kick into touch from Hogg put France on the back foot but the hosts reduced the deficit when Ntamack kicked a long-range penalty following a scrum infringement.

The home side got on top around the half-hour mark and Scotland gave away a series of penalties in front of the post.

The pressure told when Van der Merwe sold himself too early following a long throw out wide from Antoine Dupont.  Penaud passed inside for Dulin to cross in the 36th minute and Ntamack brilliantly converted.

Hogg paid the price for conceding Scotland’s 11th first-half penalty in the final minute but Nick Haining stole the five-metre lineout throw to keep France’s half-time lead at three.

✊ The winning try from yet another extraordinary Six Nations game. pic.twitter.com/nLTLyC1hKf

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) March 26, 2021

Scotland restricted France’s scoring to five points during Hogg’s spell in the sin bin, when Penaud collected Virimi Vakatawa’s offload, lobbed the ball over Ali Price and touched down in the corner.

Scotland regained control after the numbers were evened up.  Russell kicked a close-range penalty and Sam Johnson was stopped five metres from the line after bursting forward following another successful lineout.

It was France’s turn to ship a series of penalties and Cherry scooped up a loose ball following a lineout before nipping through a gap and over.  Russell converted to put Scotland back in front.

Rebbadj went over five minutes later but Ntamack missed the conversion and Scotland passed up a good chance to kick themselves level in favour of kicking into touch, but Cherry’s lineout was stolen.

Gregor Townsend’s side were still piling on the pressure when Russell was sent off in the 71st minute after catching Dulin near the throat with his elbow as he attempted to fend off the full-back.

Any hopes of another stunning finish from France were undone within two minutes when Baptiste Serin was yellow-carded and Scotland again opted to push for the try instead of going over the posts.

The pressure was relentless and Scotland finally got over when they found winger Van der Merwe on the left.  Adam Hastings added the points to round off a dramatic championship.

Check out the video highlights from Scotland's 27-23 victory over France in Saint-Denis on Friday.

Revived Scotland end France's Grand Slam hopes

Scotland made it back-to-back wins in the Six Nations as they ended France’s Grand Slam dreams with an impressive 28-17 victory at Murrayfield, a result which lifts them to third in the standings.

Fabien Galthie’s side touched down in Edinburgh looking to take another step towards their first Championship clean sweep in a decade.

They even found themselves ahead midway through the opening half thanks to Damian Penaud’s try.

But a defence remodelled in Shaun Edwards’ stingy image was left terribly exposed when Mohamed Haouas got himself sent off for an act of sheer stupidity as he aimed a punch at Jamie Ritchie.

Scotland have struggled to make the most of their attacking opportunities this campaign but, with just 14 men to contend with, they finally found their verve.  Sean Maitland crossed either side of half-time before Stuart McInally sealed a precious victory.

France had previously toppled England, Italy and Wales but looked out of sorts in the Scottish capital from the off.

The foundations of Les Bleus’ success so far had been the twin talents of youngsters Romain Ntamack and Antoine Dupont.

But Ntamack’s involvement was limited to eight rather shambolic minutes.  First he skewed wide with a simple penalty, then came a knock-on from a high ball before he finally copped a bang to the head from Sam Johnson which forced him to be replaced.

The visitors were already a man down by this point after flanker Francois Cros was sent to the bin for dropping Grant Gilchrist on his head.

Kiwi referee Paul Williams decided the tip tackle was clumsy rather than reckless and opted to keep his red in his pocket ― but not for long.

The early signs were good for the Scots, with a couple of big shunts from the pack teeing up Adam Hastings to slot over a penalty on 11 minutes.  He added another seven minutes later as his forwards continued to pilfer and frustrate at the breakdown.

However, while Ntamack’s departure was a blow to France, they had another exciting young pivot to call on in the shape of Matthieu Jalibert and it was his combination with Arthur Vincent that saw the visitors grab the lead against the run of play.

A classic full of drama comes to an end in Edinburgh

FT: Scotland 28-17 France#GuinnessSixNations #SCOvFRA pic.twitter.com/6QSRkUyQJm

— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 8, 2020

Scotland were cut apart down the left and the broken field was manna from heaven for Dupont, with his kick to the opposite flank drawing Blair Kinghorn into no-man’s land as Penaud scored on 33 minutes.

France felt the tide had turned in their favour ― but then came Haouas’ moment of madness.

An off-the-ball squabble of pushes and shoves suddenly exploded into a furious row when the prop threw a punch at Ritchie’s chin.  Williams took his time reviewing the images on the big screen and was left with no choice but to flash red when the cameras caught Haouas’ haymaker in HD quality.

Once the commotion was cleared, Hastings nudged Scotland back ahead with a penalty.

And it took Townsend’s team just four minutes to make use of the extra room as Maitland struck on the stroke of half-time.

Hastings punctured Les Bleus’ line with a daring break and Scotland did not hang about to let the visitors regroup as Stuart Hogg and Johnson snapped the ball out to the Saracens wing to score in the corner.

That put Scotland seven up at the break ― and the lead was doubled just five minutes into the second period as Maitland grabbed another.

A kicking duel between the teams was going nowhere until Hogg sensed his moment to surge forward.  Chris Harris took the drive on before Ali Price scampered to within five yards of the whitewash.

Again Scotland were quick to spot the space on the wing as Maitland stretched to dot down a try, converted by Hastings.

A Jalibert penalty trimmed the deficit by three but Scotland stuck another seven onto their tally on 65 minutes as Bernard Le Roux failed to gather a line-out.  The big lock watched forlornly as McInally raced onto the loose ball and across the line for Scotland’s third try, again converted by Hastings.

The French did have one last cheer five minutes from the end when skipper Charles Ollivon crossed over after a swift counter-attack but it was the Scots making all the noise at full-time.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries:  Maitland 2, McInally
Cons:  Hastings 2
Pens:  Hastings 3

For France:
Tries:  Penaud, Ollivon
Cons:  Jalibert 2
Pen:  Jalibert
Yellow Card:  Cros
Red Card:  Haouas

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg (c), 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Blair Kinghorn, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ali Price, 8 Nick Haining, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements:  16 Stuart McInally, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Willem Nel, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Magnus Bradbury, 21 George Horne, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Kyle Steyn

France:  15 Anthony Bouthier, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Arthur Vincent, 11 Gael Fickou, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Grégory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon (c), 6 François Cros, 5 Paul Willemse, 4 Bernard Le Roux, 3 Mohamed Haouas, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements:  16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Dylan Cretin, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Matthieu Jalibert, 23 Thomas Ramos

Referee:  Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Frank Murphy (Ireland)
TMO:  Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

France see off Scotland to claim first Six Nations win

France registered their first victory of this year’s Six Nations when they beat Scotland 27-10 in an entertaining contest in Paris on Saturday.

After suffering defeats to Wales and England in their two previous matches, Les Bleus came in for plenty of criticism, but they delivered a much-improved performance in this fixture and were full value for their win.

By contrast, Scotland battled to get going as they committed too many unforced errors, although they held a slight edge in the possession and territorial stakes.

In the end, France were deserved winners as they were better on attack and eventually outscored their visitors by four tries to one.

The opening exchanges were frantic with both sides giving the ball plenty of air and France thought they had opened the scoring in the eighth minute when Damian Penaud dotted down in the right-hand corner.  His effort was disallowed, however, as television replays revealed a knock on from Antoine Dupont in the build-up.

France put that disappointment behind them but continued to attack and in the 13th minute Thomas Ramos tore the Scottish defence to shreds with a mazy run in which he beat four defenders.  He got a pass out to Penaud, who was brought to ground inside the visitors’ 22 but the ball was recycled quickly and Romain Ntamack did well to glide through a gap before crossing for his first Test try.

Ramos slotted the conversion and added a penalty in the 18th minute after Scotland were penalised at a breakdown.

Shortly afterwards, Greig Laidlaw had an opportunity to open his side’s account from the kicking tee but his effort struck an upright.

Laidlaw had a chance to make up for that miss in the 26th minute – when Mathieu Bastareaud infringed at a ruck – and he did just that which reduced Les Bleus’ lead to seven points.

In the 28th minute, France were dealt a blow when Yoann Huget was yellow carded for slowing the ball down cynically at a ruck just inside his half.

Despite that setback, they stayed true to their attacking roots with Ntamack shining with his playmaking skills and in the 31st minute he delivered a superb chip kick which was gathered by Gaël Fickou, who crossed the whitewash.  Their joy was short-lived, however, as there was a knock-on from Wenceslas Lauret in the build-up.

Soon after, Ramos lined up another shot at goal from close to the posts but his effort was a horrible one and wide of the target which meant the match was evenly poised with France leading 10-3 at half-time.

France were fastest out of the blocks in the second half and they went onto the attack from the restart.  Penaud, Bastareaud and Louis Picamoles came to the fore with strong runs before Dupont got a pass out to Huget, who stepped past a defender before dotting down.

The rest of the half saw Scotland upping the ante on attack but despite several forays into Les Bleus’ half, they could not convert those chances into points.

France finished stronger though, with their forwards particularly impressive, and in the 75th minute they put in a huge shove at a scrum on Scotland’s five-metre line before Gregory Alldritt barged over from the base of the scrum.

That gave Les Bleus a 20-3 lead but Scotland struck back from the restart when Pete Horne broke through the home side’s defence before throwing an inside pass to Ali Price, who scored under the posts.

That try did not deter France though and just before full-time Alldritt dotted down again but his effort was disallowed due to a double movement.  France were awarded a penalty, however, and they opted to take a scrum and shortly afterwards Alldritt powered his way over the whitewash for his second try which secured a bonus point win for his team.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Ntamack, Yuget, Alldritt 2
Cons:  Ramos, Serin
Pen:  Ramos
Yellow Card:  Huget

For Scotland:
Try:  Price
Con:  Hastings
Pen:  Laidlaw

France:  15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Arthur Iturria, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Félix Lambey, 4 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 3 Demba Bamba, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements:  16 Camille Chat, 17 Etienne Falgoux, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Paul Willemse, 20 Gregory Alldritt, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Anthony Belleau, 23 Maxime Medard

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Pete Horne, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Allan Dell
Replacements:  16 Fraser Brown, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Ben Toolis, 20 Gary Graham, 21 Ali Price, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Darcy Graham

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Greig Laidlaw kicks Scotland to victory over France

Greig Laidlaw kicked six second half penalties as Scotland got their Six Nations campaign back on track following a 32-26 triumph over France.

The first half was a wonderfully free-flowing encounter with the sides scoring two tries apiece.  Teddy Thomas touched down twice for the French – his second taking them 17-7 clear – but Sean Maitland and Huw Jones crossed the whitewash for the hosts to leave it finely poised.

Although the second period was slightly more attritional, with three penalties from Laidlaw to two from Baptiste Serin the only scores in the third quarter, it was still an enthralling contest going into the final 20 minutes.

Laidlaw then levelled proceedings before the half-back added two more from the tee to condemn France to a second consecutive defeat.

It was a thrilling affair – quite comfortably the best game of the championship – and the early passage of play set the tone.

With conditions far more conducive for attacking rugby than in France’s narrow defeat to Ireland last weekend, the visitors looked to move the ball wider and enjoyed plenty of success.

Once again, Thomas, after his wonderful individual score in round one, was particularly prominent and he repeated that effort in the opening 10 minutes.

The wing virtually produced a carbon copy of that try as he picked up the ball on the right, weaved outside Finn Russell and then stepped inside Stuart Hogg for another magnificent individual touchdown.

Jacques Brunel’s men were on the front foot and Maxime Machenaud followed up converting Thomas’ score by adding a penalty.

Scotland hit back, however.  Against Wales, where they conceded early and duly folded, Gregor Townsend’s men could have gone the same way at Murrayfield but, to their credit, the hosts found their composure and, more importantly, their physicality.

Both Hamish Watson and Jonny Gray had surges which dented the opposition rearguard before the ball was shifted wide and Maitland crossed the whitewash unopposed.

Townsend’s side were playing much better but so were Les Bleus and another piece of Thomas brilliance saw them restore their 10-point buffer.  The hosts were exposed on the right once more and the Frenchman sprinted down the wing, kicked ahead and touched down.

Unperturbed, Scotland reduced the arrears when Jones took a brilliant line, but a second Machenaud three-pointer gave the visitors a 20-14 advantage at the interval.

Discipline was an issue in the second period with Laidlaw and replacement Serin, who came on at half-time, trading three-pointers.  The kickers then repeated the trick as Brunel’s side went into the final quarter 26-20 in front.

France were beginning to make errors, however, and they started to infringe more consistently.  Two of those were in kickable positions and Scotland’s scrum-half was in no mood to miss, adding a brace of penalties.

The home team sensed that their opponents were wilting and searched for the decisive breakthrough.  Townsend’s men were on the front foot and the pressure eventually yielded an opportunity for their sharp-shooter, which he converted.

Scotland maintained their intensity and Laidlaw made sure that they erased memories of their woeful performance against Wales.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries:  Maitland, Jones
Cons:  Laidlaw 2
Pens:  Laidlaw 6

For France:
Tries:  Thomas 2
Cons:  Machenaud 2
Pens:  Machenaud 2, Serin 2

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Pete Horne, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 John Barclay (c), 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Gordon Reid
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Ben Toolis, 20 David Denton, 21 Ali Price, 22 Chris Harris, 23 Blair Kinghorn

France:  15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Rémi Lamerat, 12 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Maxine Machenaud, 8 Marco Tauleigne, 7 Yacouba Camara, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 4 Arthur Iturria, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements:  16 Adrien Pelissié, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Cedate Gomes Sa, 19 Paul Gabrillagues, 20 Louis Picamoles, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Anthony Belleau, 23 Benjamin Fall

Referee:  John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  John Lacey (Ireland)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)