What a battle. Brave, bloody and bruising. I expected a close game and it was delivered. A period of dominance for 10 minutes thanks to Johnnie Beattie's yellow card in the second half seemed to swing things in France's direction, but the Scots held firm with a four point gap keeping their hopes alive. The intensity of the game was extreme, handling errors constantly kept people on edge and it must have been frustrating for the French to watch especially, but it kept the game exciting for the neutrals, you were never sure what would happen. The French won the battle at the breakdown, and were forcing turnovers, whilst the Scottish would steal it a few metres away from their own line and burst free with passion. It was the thrilling game I predicted it to be.
I highlighted some key battles in the preview here, and we will go through them now and see who what the outcome of these match-ups was and how influential they were to the game as a whole.
Half-back pairings - Kockott & Lopez vs Laidlaw & Russell
Russell was very impressive at times today, always looking to create something. He loves to run with the ball and showed that, taking the game to the French. He needs to learn to play it safer though, missing touch late on in the game piled more unnecessary pressure on the Scots and he needs to unleash Dunbar and Bennett outside of him, who looked good tonight, making some dangerous breaks that unfortunately didn't end in scores. Both kickers only missed one kick each, and every point proved to be crucial. The French pair were strong, reliable, no mistakes, but the gutsy Russell gave the Scots a lot to be hopeful for in the future. Lopez was given man of the match for kicking all the French points, although I feel there were better candidates that will be discussed later.
Papé & Maestri vs Gray & Gray
Neither second row pairing had the influence they would have hoped for, Richie Gray didn't seem too sharp, summed up by a silly penalty he gave away under no pressure. Jonny was better, and the line-out was solid with him there. It was the French that won the battle of the scrums though, just, but were definitely the better side at the breakdown, thanks in no small part to Thierry Dusautoir.
Dusautoir vs Harley
Thierry had a big game, influencing the game whenever possible, silencing his opposite number Harley, who couldn't continue his good form here. He was a contender for man of the match, the French creativity was lacking in the backs with no options around the ball carrier, but Thierry's power helped France over the line against a strong Scottish defence.
Overall it was the Scottish defence that impressed me the most, although in the first half Mark Bennett and Stuart Hogg impressed a lot with their attacking. Blair Cowan gave it his all out there, up against the physical Mathieu Basteraud and Thierry Dusautoir, who could both have won man of the match for their big performances out there. It is tough to choose a stand out player from this match, and whilst Lopez played well he wasn't the best fly half out there, let alone the best player. It was captain Thierry Dusautoir who wins my vote for man of the match because of his work rate out there and the way he led his team to victory, although the Scottish defence was the highlight to take away from this game, not conceding any tries in Paris. If they can work harder at the breakdown, which will be easier against an opposition without Thierry, then they can unleash their impressive backs. Next week against Wales will be tough for the Scots, and Lydiate and Warburton will do their best to disrupt the Scots, however at home there is every chance they go up a gear that sees them sneak a victory. The French are going to need to get over that try line if they expect to get anything in the game away at Ireland, and if they do then we could see a thrilling match if their pacey backs get on the ball.
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