LONDON – France have held on in the final minutes against a determined Scotland to win 19-16 in their final World Cup warm-up match in Paris on Saturday.
The win means that France will head into the Rugby World Cup that starts in a fortnight with consecutive wins. However it wasn’t easy as they faced a relentless Scotland that never gave up.
The result had been in doubt for some time after Scotland went in 9-6 up at the break. And after a try to Tommy Seymour, Scotland looked like registering their first win in Paris since the second 1999. However a yellow card to David Denton was costly as France capitalised on territory and possession for wing Noa Nakaitaci to burst through two tackles to score.
Scotland were in the match right up until the full-time whistle after camping in the French half for the final minutes of the match. And while they were down to 14 men in the final 10 minutes, they were the better team as France looked to retreat in their shell.
Despite losing the match, Scotland more than held their own against the French pack that bullied England in their previous two warm-ups. They were combative in close, at the break down and competed well at the set piece with New Zealand-born John Hardie immense in all areas of the park.
As for the French team, it wasn’t so much as a step backward but it was a thud back to reality for coach Philippe Saint-Andre whose game plan stalled at Scotland’s confrontational defence.