Normally, as an undercard, you’re on before the big fight. Sort of like a support act for the headliner at a festival, if you play your cards right you can take advantage of the building atmosphere and put on a show that will end up belittling the main event. But if you’re on afterwards, the only people you’ll end up impressing are those hardcore fans who will stick by you through thick and thin and a couple sobering drunks who’ve passed out under a row of seats. And that situation was almost mirrored on Saturday evening in Paris, after the stunning main event in Cardiff. It seemed that, aside from the loyal Scottish and the, well, despondent (not quite loyal) French support, only those who had collapsed in the vicinity of a TV screen by accident with a pint in hand would be able to bear witness to the showdown in the French capital.
And therein lies the problem. How are you meant to get yourself worked up for
a game if nobody else is really bothered and there’s nothing of value on the
line? The Scottish seemed to have a
reasonable intensity about them, but that comes with the traditional underdog
tag they’re always handed and a thirst to prove others wrong, but the French –
for the first 40 minutes – seemed to realise that no matter what happened,
their season would still be viewed as a failure. And so, with a shrug and a “c’est la vie”,
the match kicked off...and yet it turned out to be one of the most intriguing
games of the Championship.
In rainy conditions, and with a pitch resembling the same
smoothness of an acne-ridden teenagers face, the game settled quickly into a
familiar pattern. The French would
attack and build some phases, led once again by the phenomenal Louis Picamoles,
they would get the crowd excited, and then someone would drop it, turn the ball
over to Scotland and the accurate boots of Greg Laidlaw, Duncan Weir and Stuart
Hogg would pin them back in their half, where they would promptly concede a
penalty. And so, without showing any
real attacking edge (even though the likes of Kelly Brown and Johnnie Beattie
were thunderous in defence), the Scots got 6 points on the board through the
unwaveringly accurate boot of Laidlaw.
It’s not like the French weren’t trying to be fair, it’s
just that they once again seemed to have an allergy to accuracy. One moment of inspiration was worth noting
however, with a well-placed Frederic Michalak cross-kick being volleyed onwards
by the evergreen Vincent Clerc, with Hogg just beating the French chasers to
the ball. This was in the middle of a
period where the French were camped within the Scottish 22, but the visitor’s
defence – which has been stubborn all tournament – fought a tremendous rearguard
action to keep the hosts at bay. At the
other end, Scotland did catch a brief glimpse of the try line when substitute
Max Evans burst through a couple of tackles and chipped ahead, only for the
ball to skid into French hands. The
halftime whistle went, and the air was filled with inevitable sound of whistles
and cheers from the ever-loyal home crowd – but it had the right effect. Perhaps the French realised that there was
something worth playing for – honour – but they did return from the dressing
room a changed side.
The French machine began to break down the Scottish
resistance. Penalties began to flow from
the tired visiting defence and Michalak punished these transgressions to 3
penalty goals, 2 from scrums, to just 1 from Laidlaw, leaving the scores tired. Les Bleus were starting to find gaps within
the weary ranks of the Scottish defence – none more so than Vincent Debaty, who
had made a significant impact since he came on and provided one of the moments
of the Championship as far as I’m concerned.
Getting the ball on the left wing, Debaty threw off Laidlaw and trampled
over fellow prop Euan Murray to storm down the touchline, with Clerc in close
support. All he had to do was draw Hogg
and pass, and the French would be in for a glorious try. He didn’t even look.
Luckily, golden opportunities were coming thick and fast for
France, and eventually something had to break.
Firstly, neat offloading between Matheiu Bastareaud and Yannick Nyanga
set Wesley Fofana free down the right, and with a casual step and burst of
acceleration, he glided past Hogg to touch down for an excellent score. It was swiftly followed by another as
Bastareaud bust up the middle was followed by a sniping run by Maxime
Machenaud, who offloaded to Maxime Medard to take the game beyond Scottish
reach. There was still time for a
fantastic consolation score, with a Matt Scott break from his own 22 allowing
him to show Debaty how it should be done, with a perfectly timed draw and give
to Visser, who galloped in beneath the posts.
The French won, but they still came last in this year’s
Championship. But at least now they know
that there is always something to play for – especially when you have 75’000
impatient French fans breathing down your neck.
France Player
Ratings
Yoann Huget – 7 – Decent under the high ball in slippery
conditions, and a couple of decent bursts of pace without really getting the
pace to burst free
Vincent Clerc – 6 – Another quiet outing for the veteran
winger, but one majestic volley off a cross-kick did get the crowd on its feetMathieu Bastareaud – 8 – Power personified. Solid in the first half, the barrel grew into the game and made a couple of telling interventions – involved in both the tries.
Wesley Fofana – 8 – How is he so wriggly?! He gets through gaps that shouldn’t exist and made his finish for his try look easy when he really had a lot to do.
Maxime Médard – 6 – I didn’t realise he was on the pitch until he scored, but he took it well and was in the right place at the right time
Frederic Michalak – 6 – He is still playing too statically for me, but a better showing. Gave more variation to his play and as such the French finally looked more of a threat for me.
Morgan Parra – 6 – An odd day for the little general, who helped clear up a couple of tricky situations but didn’t really get the backs moving as he would have liked
Thomas Domingo – 7 – The scrums were tricky because of the awful surface but once again he came out on top against his opponent. Probably the best scrummaging loosehead in the world
Benjamin Kayser – 7 – Decent in the lineout and mobile around the park, the ex-Leicester man solidified his first-choice status at the coalface of the French pack
Nicolas Mas – 7- Another strong showing from the most consistent member of the pack. Had the upper hand in the tight but would still like to see him in the loose more.
Sebastien Vahaamahina – 6 – Decent effort but was responsible for a fair few fumbles in the first half. Grew into the game.
Yoann Maestri – 7 – Another powerful effort in the set piece and on the carry from the big Toulouse lock – was a big reason behind the pack getting on top in the 2nd half.
Antoine Claassen – 8 – Great first start for the South African born flanker. Intensely physical with his hits and carries, he added a good balance to the back row.
Thierry Dusautoir (capt) – 7 – A decent finish to a far-from-vintage tournament, the classy flanker showed his intelligence with a couple of sharp pick and goes but didn’t set the place alight
Louis Picamoles – 8 – Yet another strong input from the big number 8. A non-stop source of go forward ball with great hands and a huge engine. Man of the Match.
Subs Used
Guilhem Guirado – 6 - A couple of powerful carries but ignored an overlap in the 2nd half
Vincent Debaty – 7 – Great cameo, with a couple of huge trucking runs. Would have had a higher score if he had passed.
Yannick Nyanga – 7 – Only on for a short while but a lovely basketball pass set Fofana away for his score. Great little run out.
Maxime Machenaud – 8 – Certainly an improvement on Parra, he added zip and made a couple of sharp breaks, one of which led to France’s second score.
Francois Trinh-Duc – Not enough time to make an impact
Gael Fickou – Not enough time to make an impact
Scotland Player
Ratings
Stuart Hogg – 6 – A bit hit and miss. Dropped a couple of catches, made a couple of decent breaks. Made one try saving tackle (on a huge prop) and missed one (on a puny centre). Overall, just came out positive.
Sean Maitland – 5 – Cut a frustrated figure without the ball. Tried to get involved on the odd occasion but was well marshalled. Injured after half an hour.
Sean Lamont – 6 – Some good defensive work to chase back on Bastareaud after his break, and generally dealt with the threat well enough. No ball to speak of though.
Matt Scott – 7 – Great breakout for Scotland’s try. Showed nice feet and timing of the pass to go with another decent defensive display.
Tim Visser – 6 – Took his try well but I can’t help but get the impression that he’s a bit of a flapper and panics when he’s got players around him, rather than just sticking his head down and securing the ball.
Duncan Weir – 6 – Another decent showing, kicking smartly and looking lively with the ball in hand without quite getting the break he was looking for.
Greig Laidlaw – 8 – Calmness personified with his kicks and another assured tactical display from 9. Is rapidly becoming the general of the side.
Ryan Grant – 5 – A decent couple of carries rescued what was a challenging day for him against Mas and co. Respectable effort.
Ross Ford – 6 – Colossal work rate but he seemed understandably exhausted by the end. Great in defence but couldn’t really add to the attack.
Euan Murray – 4 – Things haven’t gone too well for Euan this tournament. Not only was he well beaten in the scrum again but he also missed a sitter of a tackle of Debaty for the big prop’s run.
Grant Gilchrist – 6 – Decent first outing in what would be an intimidating debut. Got stuck in on the carry and put in a strong defensive shift.
Jim Hamilton – 6 – The big lock is still not as dominant as he should be at close quarters but was part of a ferocious rearguard effort that repelled the French for 65 minutes.
Alasdair Strokosch – 5 – Some decent defensive work but, overall, a fairly anonymous return. Couldn’t make an impact on the breakdown.
Kelly Brown (captain) – 6 – As usual, a tireless effort, but a quieter showing for the captain. Couldn’t pilfer as much ball as he would have liked but made tackle after tackle.
Johnnie Beattie – 8 – A strong all-round display. Hasn’t had a chance to show off his carrying abilities all that much but his defensive work was superb – smashing Bastareaud at one point – and showed off his thunderous left boot a couple of times too.
Subs Used:
Dougie Hall – Not enough time to make an impact
Alasdair Kellock – Not enough time to make an impact
Henry Pyrgos – Not enough time to make an impact
Ruaridh Jackson – Not enough time to make an impact
Max Evans – 7 – Made a couple of handy breaks, including one which was the highlight of the first half for Scotland
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