France vs Scotland LIVE rugby: Final score and Six Nations result as Gael Fickou seals bonus-point win
France beat Scotland in the final match of the Six Nations third round
France ended Scotland’s hopes of a Six Nations Grand Slam with a 32-21 victory in a high-octane, nail-biting clash with both sides reduced to 14 men early on at the Stade de France on Sunday.
Gael Fickou gave the defending champions a bonus point with a last-minute try to add to those of Romain Ntamack, Ethan Dumortier and Thomas Ramos, who kicked the rest of the points.
Scotland, who defended ferociously and came close to overturning a 19-0 deficit, scored with two tries from Huw Jones and the boot of Finn Russell, who also added a try as the visitors recovered from a woeful start.
They had lock Grant Gilchrist sent off after seven minutes, six minutes before France prop Mohamed Haouas was also shown a red card.
Scotland’s perfect Six Nations record ended by France after torrid start
A torrid opening 20 minutes ultimately proved costly for Scotland as their perfect start to the Guinness Six Nations campaign came to an end with a 32-21 defeat by France in Paris.
Gregor Townsend’s side were ripped apart early on as the hosts raced into a 19-0 lead through tries from Romain Ntamack, Ethan Dumortier and Thomas Ramos. This frenetic period also included red cards for Scotland’s Grant Gilchrist and France’s Mohamed Haouas.
The Scots played their way back into the match with two tries from Huw Jones and one from Finn Russell, but the hosts killed off their hopes of a famous fightback with a late try from Gael Fickou.
PA
Scotland’s perfect Six Nations record ended by France after torrid start
Gregor Townsend’s side were ripped apart early on as the hosts raced into a 19-0 lead.
France 32-21 Scotland
On to Round Four then, but not before the second of the fallow weeks. Italy, Ireland, Scotland and France will all need some recuperation times after two breathless 80-minute encounters - and I’m sure Wales and England will be feeling yesterday’s action this evening, too.
The Six Nations resumes in a little less than two weeks. It’s a fun old lineup of fixtures, too: Wales are in Italy hoping to avoid a wooden spoon that increasingly seems to beckon, with Le Crunch at Twickenham following later on Saturday. Ireland’s road to a Grand Slam must go via Murrayfield - Scotland know they will have to win to keep their championship hopes alive.
France 32-21 Scotland
Just to slightly correct Shaun Edwards, France have not beaten England away from home in the Six Nations since 2005, but did claim a World Cup warm-up win at Twickenham in 2007. Still, they will of course fancy their chances in 13 days time - it wasn’t all perfect from France, but they have the power to really pressurise England, and again Fabien Galthie’s side showed significant character to see victory out.
F/T: France 32-21 Scotland - Shaun Edwards reacts
The France defence coach says to ITV: “They dominated territory, they dominated possession, but that is what you expect from a top class team. They’ve got some very creative threats. We are very happy in the end to pull away and get a bonus point.
“Obviously playing against 14 is an advantage, but it was quickly levelled up. It didn’t really affect both teams’ game plans much.
“I thought our kicking game was better than last week. A big improvement. We were a lot more disciplined in our kicking game and that helped us. Gael Fickou, for me, is a world-class player in hot form at the moment. He’s one of the best centres in teh world.
“We’ll have a beer, it’s been a tough couple of weeks. Losing was an unusual thing to feel and not a very pleasant one. We’ve not won at Twickenham, apparently, since 2005...”
F/T: France 32-21 Scotland
An honourable defeat for Scotland, but how Gregor Townsend must have hoped that this would be the year his side might put that sort of terminology behind them. Scotland adjusted well on the fly to counter France’s power, recognising that Nika Amashukeli was allowing a contest at the breakdown and muddying French ball to stall the hosts. Finn Russell produced some moments of magic in familiar fashion, but it just wasn’t quite enough.
Huw Jones speaks to ITV
“We felt like we could win that,” the two-try centre reflects. “After a really tough start, we got ourselves back into it. We had ascendancy in the second half and we played a lot of good rugby, but couldn’t quite get over the line - it’s a tough one to take. It’s tough.
“You’ve got to put the first ten minutes behind you. We were one man down, they went one man down - both teams had to adjust to that. We felt like we were chasing the game and maybe that got to us, I don’t know. I thought we had that...
“We came here with a plan, we wanted to stick to that and get the ball wide to attack their backs. It would have been nice to get another one to win the game.”
F/T: France 32-21 Scotland
France deserve real credit for squeezing out that final ten minutes, ensuring there would be no last Scottish salvo having drawn within a score.
Scotland remain clear of their opponents, and indeed England, on points difference, but Ireland are now in firm control of the championship.
F/T: France 32-21 Scotland
Another properly pulsating encounter in Paris, with France eventually holding on, snatching that bonus-point try in the throes to accentuate the positives of a back-and-forth contest. When the hosts powered over for two tries in the first ten minutes, and with Grant Gilchrist dismissed, it looked as if it might be a long afternoon for Scotland’s optimists. But Mohamed Haouas was sent off to restore numerical equality, and what followed was a thrilling affair, Scotland’s intrepid adventures throwing all they had at France but not quite having enough to finish the job.
TRY! FRANCE 32-21 Scotland (Gael Fickou try, 80 minutes)
There it is! Scotland have battled and battled but they’ll leave with not even a losing bonus point.
A thumping carry to the centre from the quick tap creates all the room that Gael Fickou needs as Scotland over-fold, Fickou shedding two would-be tacklers to punch his way over for the fourth French try.
Thomas Ramos’ conversion matters for little but the final accounting - the tally swells by two, though, as France leave with five tournament points.
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