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Hello and welcome to our coverage of today's Six Nations clash between Scotland and France from Murrayfield, Josh Gardner here, and I'll be guiding you through all of today's action. As always, your thoughts and input is always welcome, so be sure to send us your thoughts and we'll include what we can over the course of the afternoon.
With two thirds of this opening Six Nations weekend done and dusted, it's hardly been a fantastic advert for rugby has it? Ireland made shockingly hard work of what has to be one of the poorest excuses for an Italy team in the Six Nations era - the Azzuri's gameplan made the generals who came up with the battleplan for the Somme seem exciting and creative.
Meanwhile England and Wales engaged in a battle to see who could be the best at making sloppy errors and cheat more ineptly. As it was, Wales won both these coveted prizes and lost by 13 points to a thoroughly average England side - it was enough to drive me to blog about it on our Fan Zone section.
Not even repeated viewings of '100 Great Wales Tries' could cheer me up last night, so here's hoping that the Scots and the French can improve on yesterday's fare, and bring a smile back to the neutral faces.
As our editor Graham Jenkins said on Twitter: "Please rugby gods - send us a spectacle worthy of the Six Nations stage" - Scotland? Spectacle? Surely not...
France will no doubt have been pretty happy with all the performances yesterday, no-one was really firing on all cylinders, and traditionally French sides do well after Lions tours, and most people will be expecting them to do a number on the Scots today, but anyone who watched the Scots grind out that win against the Aussies in November will know that Andy Robinson seems to be moving them in the right direction.
The BBC coverage has just gotten underway and it's a cloudy and miserable day at Murrayfield. John Inverdale just said he wants one of the blue fluffy cockrels some French fans have on their heads... I'll let you make your own jokes there...
You'd think that French fans would be overflowing with confidence, but Jean Palfrey on our Fan Zone sounds rather aprehensive: "French rugby fans know that Andy Robinson coached his team for an historic victory against Australia last November. And that is not good news. In fact, it will only make us more nervous."
Injured Toulon and Scotland full back Rory Lamont is chatting to the BBC and in his words the Scots "know the French don't respect us" - them's fighting words, hope the players are ready to back it up.
Talk on the BBC couch has turned to Mathieu Bastareaud, who is sporting a rather odd moustache today, it's sort've like a chopper's handlebars - rugby players love their facial hair don't they? I always loved Andy Goode's lamb chops, what are your favourites? Let us know.
Speaking of Bastareaud, Rory Baldwin seems rather worried by the monster centre and the rest of France's rather large looking back division - "It looks like France aim to go through rather than around Scotland. Our defence was solid against Australia, but can it hold up a second time against a beefier attack?"
A beautifully observed minute's silence before the anthems for the late, great Bill McLaren - rugby commentary has never really been quite as good since he retired has it? What a legend.
There's a shedload of French fans here today, hell of a rendition of their anthem. Now, you might have heard that young Thom Evans used to be in a boy band before he started playing professionally - I'm going to listen to the line-up mic during Flower Of Scotland and see if he's still good for it...
If I was Simon Cowell, I'm not sure I'd have signed him, I'll put it that way. Right, now on with the main event - Nigel Owens will be our ref today, we're about to get started.
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| 1 |
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Francois Trin-Duc gets us underway and Rougerie absolutely hammers Kelly Brown as he recieves it. Monster hit, but he looks to have done himself a mischief. It's a firey start, an absolutely monstrous hit - love it.
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| 2 |
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First Scottish scrum isn't very convincing, no Euan Murray today remember for religious reasons, but they secure the ball, just - the Northampton man might be missed today. Scotland are looking to attack early dorrs and put it through the phases, that French defence has got serious swagger mind
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| 3 |
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Rougerie has laid two massive hits, but the last one seems to have done for him, what a rather silly thing to do. The replacement warming up is Vincent Clerc, oh they'll really be weakened there...
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| 4 |
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The French are destroying the Scottish scrum, winning good ball outside the 22 and Poitrenaud looks to send Rougerie down the left, but he fumbles it, and and now he's finally off. Thom Evans clearly got annoyed by my singing swipe, as he laid the wood on Bastareaud, he might regret that...
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| 5 |
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In the words of our Editor Graham Jenkins "Rougerie must have found out that he was in my fantasy team" - yeah mine too, this isn't a vintage weekend for me...
Both teams throw it all over the place, with Paterson looking to break out from the 22, but for nought, a French turnover looks like it could work for them, but the pass to Clerc is forward.
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| 6 |
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Jonathan Davies on the BBC - "Scotland are defending very narrowly at the moment, there's so much space on the outside"
The Scots are really not playing to the script here, they're looking to ship it out and run from deep at every opportunity.
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| 7 |
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Against the run of play, the Scots have a scoring chance. Max Evans picks off a pass at midfield and then bursts into the 22, the French defences recovers though and stops him, but the forwards drive up to a few metres out, it's shipped out to the backs, and Harinordoquy is penalised for hands in the ruck.
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| 8 |
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If Max Evans had pinned his ears back when he picked off that pass, he might have scored you know, he was caught in two minds and got scragged.
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| 10 |
3 - 0 |
You don't need me to tell you Paterson scored it there do you?
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| 11 |
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Wow, massive call there, Vincent Clerc breaks through inside the 22, he's ankle tapped, stumbles and rolls over the line. But somehow, Thom Evans got his arm underneath and holds him up, fantastic effort from the winger, but a scrum five to come...
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| 12 |
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It's not going well here, the French are toying with them, Jacobsen pops up and is penalised and we'll have another go. This is going to be five, one way or another - mark my words. The Scots are outclassed.
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| 14 |
3 - 5 |
Well that was what's known as doing it the hard way. The Scottish front row popped up again and rather than take the penalty, Harinordoquy picked it up and made for the line. For a second there I thought it was all going to go wrong for them, but Parra spotted numbers out wide, and Trinh-Duc supplied Bastareaud with a lovely pass out of contact to score.
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| 15 |
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Jonathan Davies - "The French are looking very comfortable, very organised"
The French are penalised inside the Scottish half and Godman sends the kick up to just shy of the 22. We haven't had a lineout yet, for Soctland's sake I hope it's goign better than the scrum...
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| 17 |
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Oh that was a chance, that was a real, real chance. Barclay picks up the long lineout throw and bursts into the 22, the Barclay bursts through and is pulled down just shy. If he goes to ground, the Scots are sure to score, but he tries a wild offload to Cusiter, who knocks on with the line at his mercy.
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| 18 |
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The scrum is messy, but the Scots can't do anything with it, Jacobsen is popping up like a jack-in-the-box, and France easily clear it.
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| 19 |
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The pack might be getting schooled in the scrum, but Scotland are playing well otherwise, there's a real patience and composure to the backline that's keeping the French at arm's length for the moment.
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| 21 |
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Rory Lamont is bemoaning his teams work at the breakdown, and he's right, they're getting bullied. But it's Ouedrago, Dusatoir and Harinordoquy - who wouldn't struggle.
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| 22 |
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Godman shows that he's not just there to make up the numbers by spotting a nice gap and breaks through before offloading to Lamont, who's snagged.
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| 23 |
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This is all getting a bit silly, Godman goes for a badly judged kick inside the 10m line. Trinh-Duc charges it down and kicks on, but the bounce isn't friendly and he has to stop short of the line. With Scottish defenders all around him he tries a wild offload that lands in a Scottish hand - big let off for the Scots there.
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| 24 |
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Scotland are throwing it around with almost terminal intensity, the French blitz is really handling them though. Bastareaud is having a great comeback game, he's scored one and he just ripped the ball off Thom Evans superbly in the tackle.
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| 25 |
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Jonathan Davies is getting very angry about the Scots letting the French blitz drift too easily and he's right, there's no attempt to make the last man commit.
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| 26 |
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Nigel Owens has finally lost patience with the Scottish front row and Jacobsen in particular, it's about time I'd say, he hasn't attempted a proper contact since the first scrum. It's a penalty to France inside the Scottish half, just to the right of the posts.
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| 27 |
3 - 8 |
A nice kick from Parra, who shanked the conversion earlier.
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| 28 |
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How many times do we have to see a team switching off after they score and conceding points. France clear the initial restart, but then they don't chase well enough and the ball is shipped to Lamont, who beats Fall and Poitrenaud and is eventually brought down by Harinordoquy.
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| 29 |
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They press the line but to no avail, they've won a penalty though, out on the right hand side.
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| 30 |
6 - 8 |
Paterson makes no mistake and the Scots are back within two.
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| 31 |
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Scrum's Huw Baines is regaling Harinordoquy, who has been everywhere today, but bemoans the fact that such a brilliant player has such a difficult name. You try saying it three times fast, go on.
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| 33 |
6 - 13 |
Well this is all a bit scripted eh, Trinh-Duc floats a beautiful pass to Harinordoquy which cuts out about three players, he offloads to Bastaread who has Clerc on his outside, he shows the pass but pins his ears back and smashes through Evans' tackle attempt to score a second.
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| 34 |
6 - 15 |
Well, after his dodgy first effort, Parra's touchline conversion is beautiful, struck right down the middle.
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| 35 |
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Graham Jenkins is getting ominous feelings about this French side, and they're looking to be kicking into high gear: "I think the Murrayfield groundsmen should put some more sand down at half-time in an attempt to slow the French a little" - yeah, about six inches of the stuff should just about do it...
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| 36 |
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The Scottish forwards are looking at each scrum with the look of chickens at a slaughterhouse. I really, really hope Euan Murray's not watching this - it's an embarassment for the Scottish pack.
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| 37 |
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Oh dear, oh dear, another charged down kick, this time from Paterson, is gathered by the French, Domingo this time, and the French are at the Scottish line again. Not what you need before half time let's be honest.
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| 38 |
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The Scottish defence does an excellent job of spoiling the French ball and slowing it down, pushing them back.
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| 39 |
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That's a great turnover there, piling in at the breakdown and securing the ball, so Godman can clear to touch. Jonathan Davies notes that they have just saved the game there.
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| 40 |
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Sloppy lineout from the French, Harinordoquy fumbles and it falls into Dickinson's hands, the prop goes to ground and Godman can't kick it out fast enough. What a horrible half for the Scots, they've been battered and outclassed in almost every way.
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Well, that's a bit more like it to be honest. That was an exciting and entertaining half of rugby - neither side kicked it away that much, and both sides had chances. That said, the Scots will be shellshocked in that dressing room, they haven't played badly, they've attacked well at times and at the end they defended their line brilliantly, and yet they're well behind.
Truth told, I think the defence has really hung Scotland out to dry, they're too narrow and are leaving the wide men on an island - you just can't do that against the French.
Andy Nicholl in the BBC studio - "Scotland can't spend two thirds of the match in your own half and expect to win. When you're playing against the French in these situations you're going to concede points"
It's just been mentioned that Bastareaud is 6-feet tall and weighs 18-stone. Or in other words, a fairly large fridge/freezer combo - no wonder Phil Godman looked like a man who'd done three tours in 'Nam as he was bearing down on him...
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| 40 |
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Nigel Owens is late coming out after half time. I was at Shane Williams' testimonial a few years back and Owens was late coming back for that too - they started without him. Don't see that happening today...
Well, that's hardly a statement of intent, Godman's kickoff goes straight out and it's a scrum on the halfway line.
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| 41 |
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Well it's as you were, the French move up inside the 22 almost instantly from the scrum, but there's a knock-on and Scotland's put-in. It's a very worrying sign for Andy Robinson though
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| 42 |
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Graham Jenkins is a man of great insight - "Talking of 'Nam - did you know Trinh-Duc was qualified to play for Vietnam thanks to a grandfather - can't believe he dwelled too long on that decision..."
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| 43 |
6 - 18 |
Sloppy work from the Scots at the breakdown as they go in off their feet on their own ball and they've not only conceded a penalty out wide on the right, but they haven't got out of their half so far...
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| 44 |
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Ooh, just - that kick had the accuracy and it just, literally a matter of inches, dropped the right side of the posts for the first score of the half.
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| 45 |
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The Scots make a decent fist of the restart, but an ill-judged chip over lets France clear and it goes all the way back for a 22. That's the end of that brief sojurn then.
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| 46 |
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The French aren't doing anything special here, they're just bigger and stronger than the Scots and are muscling their way through defender, slowly edging up the field.
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| 47 |
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Lovely short side ball from Poitrenaud to Clerc, who feeds Bastareaud and the French are up into the 22. Trinh-Duc is back in the pocket and he's got so much space, he could've lit an extravagant French cigarette, smoked it, and still had plenty of time to stroke it over, but he pushes it wide.
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| 48 |
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90% of the territory in this half has been in the Scotland half - ninety. That's incredible.
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| 49 |
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"A French fly-half waits 48 minutes before opting for a drop goal - some kind of record non?" - Graham Jenkins has no truck with sporting cultural sterotypes...
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| 50 |
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Good Lord, we're in the French half. Not for very long as Nallet steals the ball from Ford in the tackle, but hey, as far as Scotland are concerned, this is progress.
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| 51 |
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Dimitri Szarzewski is on - I've never trusted a forward who takes care of his hair, it's not the point is it?
Oh that's a bit embarassing, Godman's pass is picked off by Fall, his first touch of the game no less, but he was offside. Sadly he doesn't hear the whistle and runs it all the way in for the 'score'. Bless him, he looks a bit heartbroken.
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| 52 |
9 - 18 |
We come all the way back, about 70 metres all told, for a penalty and Paterson strokes it over from in front of the posts.
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| 53 |
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Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with forwards having long hair - Chabal and Adam Jones are brillaint - but something about Szarzewski's bouffant look is a bit wrong. It's all a bit David Ginola in the L'Oreal adverts isn't it?
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| 54 |
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Trinh-Duc's kick through is beautiful and it dribbles into touch inside the Scottish 22 and the French are reasserting their authority.
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| 55 |
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Picked off lineout ball by France, nothing's going right for the Home side today. It's shipped out to the other touchline but the ball's knocked on. After the whistle 12-stone Parra is picking a fight with 16-stone Lamont. This is inadvisable in my book.
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| 56 |
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Scotland just about manage to avoid conceding a penalty on the first scrum but that was a monster shove from the French pack.
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| 57 |
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Fingernails stuff from Scotland but they just about manage to secure their own ball and it's cleared. Poitrenaud muffs the catch though and it's a Scottish scrum. The French fans are making so much noise today, you'd swear we were in the Stade De France - they're having a great time.
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| 58 |
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"How does that football chant go - 'You're supposed to be at home!' - Scottish crowd getting bullied too." - come now Graham, that's kicking them when they're down a bit isn't it?
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| 59 |
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This game has totally petered out. The French are just putting it through the phases, mauling up the field to win a penalty out on the right hand side. This is total and utter control, you'd swear they were playing against a B-side.
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| 60 |
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Graham Jenkins "Did Harinordoquy just kiss Szarzewski after they won the penalty? And could I have used any more vowels in that question?" It's true, the French are not only beating the Scots, they're demolishing the part of my brain responsible for spelling.
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| 61 |
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Clerc is nearly, oh so nearly through on the left, but he's scragged and the French reset. That all came from a sloppy bit of breakdown work that led to a turnover. Story of the day really.
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| 63 |
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Bastareaud is human after all, he spills the ball and the Scots are let off.
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| 64 |
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Lamont attempts to break up the left and inject some pace, but he's tackled by Ouedraogo, then Barclay takes it on but he's absolutely smashed by Fall. That said, all of a sudden, the Scots are starting to play. It's almost like they've just realised they're only nine points behind.
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| 65 |
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Scotland are up to just outside the French 22, that's the best places they've been all half. The French look to have nicked it on the deck, but it's a mess at the breakdown and Nigel Owens gives them a scrum. That's generous.
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| 66 |
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It's true y'know, even though the French have been totally dominant, they've not built on their lead, and if the Scots can get a score, anything can happen. Max Evans sees some space and breaks up into the 22, but, oh that's really frustrating for them - penalised for holding on.
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| 67 |
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Richie Gray is on for Nathan Hines, as Huw Baines notes "He's levelled it up in the lustrous mane stakes for Scotland." It's true that - feathered and lethal.
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| 68 |
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Parra kicks over the top, but Fall is still on the deck after getting clattered chasing a kick. Luckily for him it dribbles into touch inside the five metre line.
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| 69 |
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What are Scotland doing? They take a quick lineout and the Scottish pack are instantly hammered back over their own line. Five metre scrum to the French. Madness.
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| 70 |
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Michalak is coming on for France, wonder what this haggard Scottish defence is going to make of his bag of tricks...
As you've probably guessed, the French are punishing the Scots at the scrum, Nigel Owens is having a chat about everyone collapsing all over the place.
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| 71 |
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Finally, the scrum is over and Parra takes it on, only to be stopped short, the French reset though and put it through a few tight phases. But yet again they've thrown away a nailed-on try by conceding a penalty - this time for Szarzewski going in off his feet. Stupid.
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| 72 |
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Cusiter takes the ball off the top of the lineout and is instantly caught and bundled into touch by half the French pack - this is a horror show for the Scots, they can't get anything right - if France had been playing well, they could have scored 40 or 50 by now.
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| 73 |
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I should be quiet shouldn't I? Barclay takes a quick penalty and offloads to Lamont, who has easily been the best player for Scotland today - he bursts through the takles of Jauzion and Poitrenaud up to the 22, he's isolated and offloads to Jacobsen, but when the ball next goes into contact it's turned over by Harinordoquy
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| 74 |
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Lamont ran himself into trouble there - if he'd stayed with his support that could easily have been a try.
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| 75 |
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I love the front row hand-off don't you? Adam Jones had a great one when he was scoring yesterday and Low just gave Ducalcon a monster stiff-arm to the face, brutal stuff.
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| 76 |
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Imanol Harinordoquy is Jonathan Davies' man of the match, and don't I know it, I've been typing that name all afternoon.
Graham Jenkins - "Haskell - two tries man of the match. Bastareaud - two tries and a pat on the back. Jiffy must have Imanol in his fantasy side!"
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| 77 |
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Jacobsen and Low think their backs all of a sudden, one offloading to the other in the tackle as they look to break. Sadly though, they're front rowers, and the ball is knocked on.
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| 79 |
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The French are really not playing that well now, they're misplacing lineout ball, knocking it on, and generally being sloppy, but the Scots just can't do anything about it. As if to put a punctuation point on that, Domingo breaks up the right hand side touchline and makes about 15 yards before someone thinks to put him into touch.
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| 80 |
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Scotland have the ball as the clock dies, but Harinordoquy rips the ball from the maul and Michalak punts it into touch to secure France's first win of the tournament.
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Andy Nichol just described that as a "deflating defeat" for the Scots and he's right. The French bullied them from start to finish, even though Les Bleus seemed to be coasting along, getting sloppier as the game went on. The problem is familiar for the Scots, they can't score tries, they can't finish off moves, and they don't seem to have much creativity in the backline.
France on the other hand will be pleased with how completely they controlled the first half, despite not being in anything near top gear. The danger is that they go into the game against Ireland next week feeling complacent, as despite the limp Irish performance yesterday, they'll be an infinitely harder proposition.
For the Scots, all the pre-game optimism and good feeling about the Andy Robinson reign came down with a bump. This was a very poor performance in every area - they'll hope that having Euan Murray back next week will shore up the scrum against Wales, if not, this could be another long tournament.
Thanks for joining me, hope you enjoyed the game, let's do this all again next week where we have another full slate of games.
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