France v Scotland

:00:48. > :00:53.Scotland fans are arriving in Paris. They must be pinching themselves.

:00:54. > :00:57.The win against Ireland last week was their first opening weekend

:00:58. > :01:00.victory in more than a decade. It sets up the afternoon clash against

:01:01. > :01:04.France nicely. They are looking back to back opening wins in the six

:01:05. > :01:08.nations for the first time ever. The clashes here have been tied recently

:01:09. > :01:20.but you have to go back a long way for the last Scotland victory.

:01:21. > :01:36.Townsend. It is on the line. And at the finish. Still on that side. A

:01:37. > :01:47.first try for France! Just the start to the half Scotland did not need.

:01:48. > :01:57.And he has got it in touch! This is heartbreaking. He has scored again

:01:58. > :02:03.for France! They are now moving beyond Scotland. All of the points

:02:04. > :02:12.for Lopez. It is a missed opportunity. And Duncan Taylor

:02:13. > :02:32.reaching for the Linux! And still what a finish. -- reaching for the

:02:33. > :02:41.line! A win for Scotland. Stuart Hogg. It is two. A sneaky way

:02:42. > :02:49.through for the try. Scotland have won the opening match of this Six

:02:50. > :02:52.Nations. Yes, it is a numbers game. Of course, Scotland will hope they

:02:53. > :02:56.are on the right side of the numbers today. Welcome to Paris. Three men

:02:57. > :03:01.alongside me played in many of the fixtures in the last ten or so

:03:02. > :03:05.Scotland have failed to win. Tommaso Cassio played the last time Scotland

:03:06. > :03:09.did defeat France in Paris. You know how hard it is for Scotland to grind

:03:10. > :03:13.out those victories here. We love having you with us all the time,

:03:14. > :03:17.Thomas. Especially this fixture because we can dig into the archives

:03:18. > :03:21.and relive the moment when Scotland were storming of the first half,

:03:22. > :03:26.really shocking from that day, going on to win the old five Nations. We

:03:27. > :03:30.started really well. We scored that tried. We were surprised by the

:03:31. > :03:36.quality of the Scottish game. That was the sort of thing of the team.

:03:37. > :03:42.They played really well against us. If you do not play a very open game

:03:43. > :03:45.against Scotland, if you get too conservative, you know you can be

:03:46. > :03:50.punished. That is why we are scared to play against this Scottish team.

:03:51. > :03:57.We like to see his blonde peroxide hair that day! That was a mistake. I

:03:58. > :04:01.think Scotland produced some of the best attacking rugby, five tries in

:04:02. > :04:05.the first half. Townsend pulling the strings. Michael Leslie going over

:04:06. > :04:10.for the tries. We have compared this squad, Gabby, to the 1999 squad. I

:04:11. > :04:15.think this is the first time we have a team that can match that. In the

:04:16. > :04:18.first of against Ireland we saw an attacking performance almost as good

:04:19. > :04:23.as that one. The challenge is to come here to a place they have not

:04:24. > :04:26.won since 1999... Go back over the last ten victories and in the last

:04:27. > :04:32.few years the victory for France have been quite small. Four points,

:04:33. > :04:36.seven, seven. It has been closing. How important was that win last year

:04:37. > :04:41.in Scotland, Skype and -- psychologically? There were lots of

:04:42. > :04:45.close games, as you said. I remember Scotland leading into the last 20

:04:46. > :04:50.minutes of the game. France making some changes with a couple of brig

:04:51. > :04:55.-- big props. Playing the power game. We have to get away from that

:04:56. > :04:58.this week. How much will it be in the mind of the coaching staff that

:04:59. > :05:03.at the end of the tournament in May those rankings really count? The

:05:04. > :05:08.polls are decided for the next World Cup. Scotland are at seven and

:05:09. > :05:12.France and eight. You need to be a top aide side for those rankings to

:05:13. > :05:17.be effective. It will be important to be in a good group. Even when we

:05:18. > :05:22.lost in 99 in the Six Nations, we reach the final of the World Cup.

:05:23. > :05:25.Maybe losing will not be a bad signal but we have to win this game,

:05:26. > :05:30.especially in Scotland at home. It could be the start of something for

:05:31. > :05:33.the French team. Forget the World Cup qualification. If Scotland win

:05:34. > :05:38.today they go at six, but South Africa, their highest ever position.

:05:39. > :05:43.Incredible to think we are on the countdown to the end of the career

:05:44. > :05:46.of Vern Cotter as Scottish coach, he is moving on at the end of the

:05:47. > :05:52.season. It feels like everything is aligning for this team now. And this

:05:53. > :05:56.time this squad have been together for at least two or three seasons.

:05:57. > :05:59.They get to know each other well and they are bonding and you can see

:06:00. > :06:03.that on the pitch now. We will talk more about these teams in a moment.

:06:04. > :06:08.This match in Paris as the final instalment of this weekend's Six

:06:09. > :06:13.Nations. First let's go to Rome. Ireland were the visitors yesterday.

:06:14. > :06:17.It was a particularly profitable afternoon the two players in

:06:18. > :06:26.particular. Played back by Sean Healy. Advantage against Ireland. A

:06:27. > :06:35.number of mistakes. And out wide it goes. CJ Stander! The South African

:06:36. > :06:44.turned Irishman with his fourth try in green. Ominous for Italy. Still

:06:45. > :06:49.they go. Within four meters of the line. It comes back to Keith Earls.

:06:50. > :06:55.CJ Stander once more. From a stand still he drives and scores! What a

:06:56. > :07:03.try from CJ Stander. CJ Stander again! CJ Stander! It is a hat-trick

:07:04. > :07:11.for CJ Stander! Ireland have another try. They are ripping Italy apart.

:07:12. > :07:19.And CJ Stander, three tries for Ireland. What a man, what a moment

:07:20. > :07:24.and what a game he is having. Gilroy skips inside. Gilroy winning that

:07:25. > :07:33.debate. Another try for Ireland and Gilroy has his touchdown now. Try

:07:34. > :07:41.for Gilroy. Defiance to the last. Luke Maclean the... Rolled on from

:07:42. > :07:47.the RG. He thinks he can do everything. The kick ahead from the

:07:48. > :07:51.inside flanker. It falls for Gilroy and it has done. Gilroy will be true

:07:52. > :07:57.for another. Craig Gilroy, his second and Ireland pass the

:07:58. > :08:04.half-century of points. Fortune favoured Gilroy on that occasion.

:08:05. > :08:09.Cruel bounce for Italy. This is cruel punishment for Italy.

:08:10. > :08:16.Advantage being played, how it goes and Gilroy has a hat-trick! -- out

:08:17. > :08:20.it goes. The tries are raining down for Ireland. They finish with

:08:21. > :08:26.another, passing 60 points. A record win for Ireland over Italy in the

:08:27. > :08:29.Six Nations. STUDIO: The first ever bonus point for tries in the Six

:08:30. > :08:34.Nations for Ireland which could be crucial in the final day if they are

:08:35. > :08:38.still in the contest. It is hard to see what the positives were for

:08:39. > :08:42.Italy at all. We know in the match against Wales we had that

:08:43. > :08:45.stereotypical performance of 50 minutes withstanding the pressure

:08:46. > :08:50.but yesterday there was not even that for Conor O'Shea's team. It was

:08:51. > :08:55.based on power. The first half they blew the Italians away and they

:08:56. > :09:01.could not stop any attacks from CJ Stander, Henshaw, O'Brien. Ireland

:09:02. > :09:06.are very good at what they do. I have to say Italy, that is 96 they

:09:07. > :09:10.have conceded in two matches so far. Nine tries yesterday. The next game

:09:11. > :09:14.is against England at Twickenham in two weeks. We knew Conor O'Shea had

:09:15. > :09:19.a tough job. We are seeing just how difficult it is. It takes time for a

:09:20. > :09:24.coach to change his style and culture. I would not judge them too

:09:25. > :09:29.early. I think this is the start of the journey. They won against South

:09:30. > :09:34.Africa in the Autumn Internationals. Maybe this match came to early and

:09:35. > :09:37.they thought the job was done. But they are in front of reality and

:09:38. > :09:42.they have difficulties against teams like the Irish. And they lost

:09:43. > :09:46.against Tonga. They are very up and down at the moment. It is important

:09:47. > :09:51.not to allow those kind of critics who say they should have a

:09:52. > :09:55.relegation system and give Georgia a chance, these kinds of defeats give

:09:56. > :10:00.oxygen to those arguments. And they are valid discussions to have with

:10:01. > :10:04.Georgia. If that continues in the next few matches, England at

:10:05. > :10:06.Twickenham, be honest, you could see another scoreline, the evidence

:10:07. > :10:12.suggests they would. That conversation really becomes top of

:10:13. > :10:15.the agenda. We are about the same page. Have you ever watched the hit

:10:16. > :10:21.man and her? I always wanted to broker from a disco. Apparently we

:10:22. > :10:26.are! Apology for being drowned out by the DJ. We love it in Paris.

:10:27. > :10:29.There was a big game after that one, Wales against England, always a

:10:30. > :10:34.highlight in the International rugby calendar. Yesterday at tea-time it

:10:35. > :10:45.did not disappoint. COMMENTATOR England still have it. Jonathan

:10:46. > :10:51.Joseph. Long. Leigh Halfpenny. Makes the tackle. Here comes Mike Brown.

:10:52. > :11:04.The Welsh defence is still holding out. Until now! Do not move your

:11:05. > :11:17.feet! And Wales turn pressure into points. Liam Williams can and

:11:18. > :11:24.scores! They take the lead. James Haskell.

:11:25. > :11:39.Joe Launchbury. Change of direction. Brown. He loses the ball. The

:11:40. > :11:44.referee has the whistle to his mouth. But he is not sure. He's not

:11:45. > :11:53.sure, he says. And England are one foot short. They drive. Pushing

:11:54. > :12:07.forward. Young's has to go digging for it. They go over on the right.

:12:08. > :12:16.Interception! By Dan Biggar! Elliott Daly. Footballing skills from

:12:17. > :12:21.Elliott Daly. And the position goes from England to Wales. Alun

:12:22. > :12:25.Wyn-Jones... Wales in no rush but at some stage they are going to have to

:12:26. > :12:28.clear the lines. Jonathan Davies. Straight down the field towards

:12:29. > :12:55.George Ford. Farrell. Runs down and scores! England are

:12:56. > :12:59.going to win again. Danny Care. It has been an outstanding game of

:13:00. > :13:07.rugby. Eddie Jones is team remain undefeated, 15 games goes to 16

:13:08. > :13:14.games. England have beaten Wales at the principality Stadium in Cardiff.

:13:15. > :13:19.Wales, 16. England, 21. STUDIO: So this rocking stadium. Beneath it you

:13:20. > :13:23.can see the table looks like this heading into the final match of this

:13:24. > :13:27.round. England of a maximum of eight points but they have not picked up

:13:28. > :13:29.any bonus points. Ireland have a losing bonus point for coming within

:13:30. > :13:34.a try and conversion against Scotland and the winning bonus point

:13:35. > :13:37.against Italy, who knows how significant are those points will be

:13:38. > :13:41.come the final day of reckoning? Italy yet to get off the mark.

:13:42. > :13:44.France looking for their first win today and Scotland will be hoping to

:13:45. > :13:50.join England on eight points or more at the end of today. Let's discuss

:13:51. > :13:53.that incredible England victory. Wells have been a dominant,

:13:54. > :13:58.producing a performance we have not seen in a while, especially since

:13:59. > :14:06.the autumn tests. -- with the autumn tests. -- Wales have been a dominant

:14:07. > :14:09.force. It had pace, intensity. A fantastic advert for the Six

:14:10. > :14:14.Nations. The policy was right up there. It came down to a 75 minute

:14:15. > :14:20.performance by Wales. They could not keep it going. Fatigue set in. They

:14:21. > :14:24.withstood a lot of pressure. All they are looking to do is clear

:14:25. > :14:28.their lines. Dan Biggar is not in position. There he is, getting back.

:14:29. > :14:33.Jonathan Davies is not used to clearing his lines. Doesn't even get

:14:34. > :14:36.close. That is the 15 yard line. You have got to applause two brilliant

:14:37. > :14:41.passes but in particular this one from Owen Farrell asked Elliott

:14:42. > :14:44.Daly. He holds Roberts and Alex Cuthbert. Then a race which Elliott

:14:45. > :14:51.Daly wins. I thought Cuthbert was going to get him. I thought fatigue

:14:52. > :14:56.set in. Their semi-different parts. Wales looked like they were there to

:14:57. > :15:00.kick -- set up Davies. Sinckler ready to make a charge and a great

:15:01. > :15:05.effort from him. A front row player making the game changer. The angle

:15:06. > :15:08.that Jonathan Davies is trying to make the touch, because of the

:15:09. > :15:12.pressure from Sinclair, he puts the ball into the middle of the field.

:15:13. > :15:16.That is a shortened line Wales have to defend with. What I like about

:15:17. > :15:20.this English team, they play every movement like the first one. You can

:15:21. > :15:26.see the quality of the past, the running, Elliott Daly, England, when

:15:27. > :15:30.you run after Dan Biggar ten minutes earlier, how he managed to go around

:15:31. > :15:34.and convert and score, unbelievable. They are finding ways to win games.

:15:35. > :15:40.Owen Farrell is pivotal to that. I think he has had that winning

:15:41. > :15:43.mentality that he brings. All the players we have highlighted,

:15:44. > :15:47.Sinclair, that effort was what nobody really sees but Farrell is

:15:48. > :15:53.the beating heart of the team. You can see him bossing it. When we were

:15:54. > :15:56.talking about watching... He goes up to the referee and asks how long to

:15:57. > :16:01.go, he says, ten minutes and he says, I am taking the points, he is

:16:02. > :16:08.bossing it. It is a squad game. It is an 80 minute game. None of the

:16:09. > :16:13.starts in the first 20 -- starts the first 20, and the last 20, you play

:16:14. > :16:17.the whole match. If another team fatigues England are going to

:16:18. > :16:20.pounce. The England bench made such an impact. Same with France when

:16:21. > :16:25.Danny Care came on getting the ball away. We saw it again against Wales.

:16:26. > :16:30.Eddie Jones calls them finishers. Not the bench, finishes. A 23 man

:16:31. > :16:34.squad, hate guys coming on, they are going to finish the game, and they

:16:35. > :16:40.have done it two weeks running, so are really affected. They have got

:16:41. > :16:49.their aura as well. -- effective. Let's go back to last weekend and

:16:50. > :16:55.find out how these two teams got on. The excitement of the Six Nations

:16:56. > :17:03.remains a constant. Good John. And a try is going to be scored. Two

:17:04. > :17:08.chances, two scores. Two tries for Scotland. This is great from

:17:09. > :17:16.Scotland because they have one. -- won it. France made more metres than

:17:17. > :17:19.any other team last weekend but that loss against England leaves them

:17:20. > :17:26.with four straight defeats in the Six Nations. Gina theirs has made

:17:27. > :17:30.just one change today, in at flanker, Goujon. We will hear a

:17:31. > :17:33.fascinating story shortly. Just one enforced change as Gough and try to

:17:34. > :17:38.win the opening two games in the Six Nations for the first time ever.

:17:39. > :17:42.Ryan Wilson is injured. There was plenty to enjoy last week for the

:17:43. > :17:47.head coach Vern Cotter and he has been talking to Lee McKenzie. You

:17:48. > :17:51.have a lot of expense in French rugby with playing and coaching, I

:17:52. > :17:57.think ran about 17 teams. -- 17 years. Does that give you any

:17:58. > :18:01.advantage in knowing what France are going to be throwing at Scotland

:18:02. > :18:08.today? I suppose a little bit of an idea. It is common sense. I suppose.

:18:09. > :18:11.They have not won a game for a while and they are desperate to win and

:18:12. > :18:14.they will throw everything at us. They are passionate when they get on

:18:15. > :18:20.their home soil and gets to 80,000 people supporting them. We've got to

:18:21. > :18:23.play smart, execute well and try and put the pressure back on them so it

:18:24. > :18:27.works against them but it is going to be tough. France have a huge

:18:28. > :18:31.pack. What have Scotland worked on to counteract that and just to be

:18:32. > :18:39.able to get another hand against Guy Noves side? It is body position and

:18:40. > :18:44.trying to get down underneath and work hard and try and turn them

:18:45. > :18:47.around. They go well going forward but probably have trouble turning

:18:48. > :18:52.around at times. So trying to get them to turn around. Take the wind

:18:53. > :18:59.out of their sails with some smart kicking. We had to be ready for it.

:19:00. > :19:03.And what opportunities we do get we had to be able to score with them

:19:04. > :19:05.and keep the game is as close as we can in the last 20 minutes. And

:19:06. > :19:14.hopefully try and put some pressure on. And some smart play. The one

:19:15. > :19:18.thing we know is that there are a lot of Glasgow players in this

:19:19. > :19:23.Scottish team. Eight of them today. Jones set to join next season. You

:19:24. > :19:26.coach them on a day to day level. You can see all sorts of reasons why

:19:27. > :19:29.that would be an advantage. For one thing Glasgow are doing very well

:19:30. > :19:35.and they bring great optimism and team spirit into the squad.

:19:36. > :19:37.Confidence is massive at international level. You have got

:19:38. > :19:42.players here that have defeated Leicester away from home, 43-0. Last

:19:43. > :19:46.week the win against Ireland was fantastic. They are brimming with

:19:47. > :19:51.confidence. Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg, when they are on fire they are

:19:52. > :19:54.difficult to handle. International coaches do not have a lot of time

:19:55. > :19:58.with their players. We have a nucleus of one club who know each

:19:59. > :20:03.other and it is a similar style of rugby, Gaby, there are some nuances

:20:04. > :20:07.which are different but the star they play, off-loading at pace, high

:20:08. > :20:13.tempo is how Gregor Townsend coaches in Glasgow. Greig Laidlaw, Hugh

:20:14. > :20:18.Jones, they fit in seamlessly into a well oiled machine. We said earlier

:20:19. > :20:21.the first half against the Irish last week was a wonderful way to

:20:22. > :20:26.stop the campaign, the whole Six Nations. It looks like we are on

:20:27. > :20:31.free fantastic 80 minutes of rugby. The Irish came back a bit in the

:20:32. > :20:33.second half and thwarted that. Mike, you look closely at how Scotland

:20:34. > :20:36.took advantage, the forwards in particular, gaining the extra

:20:37. > :20:42.metres, setting up really quick ball. The back three took the

:20:43. > :20:44.headlines. The Ford carries were sensational. That got them on the

:20:45. > :20:49.front foot. Hamish Watson initially get it here. The Irish use a

:20:50. > :20:53.slightly different techniques to try and hold him up. He moves on. He has

:20:54. > :20:58.taken a next seven, eight metres. The cow quick that ball is. He

:20:59. > :21:03.unleashes Finn Russell on the outside to make full use of the

:21:04. > :21:07.players. Josh doing the same. Players on the pitch making it

:21:08. > :21:12.regards. Look at that first contact, where it takes place. If that is

:21:13. > :21:16.stopped here we lose momentum. An extra seven, eight, nine metres.

:21:17. > :21:22.Ready to play front football for Finn Russell. Will that be harder to

:21:23. > :21:27.do against France? It will be because France will initially tackle

:21:28. > :21:30.low. The Ireland team tackles low but the ball comes back here really

:21:31. > :21:34.quickly. It is difficult to get quick ball in this scoring area of

:21:35. > :21:39.the pitch. Look at the numbers Finn Russell has got. Keith Earls is the

:21:40. > :21:43.last defender. There is an opportunity to score but he went

:21:44. > :21:46.short. There is going to be a difference. This French term, I

:21:47. > :21:52.think the way they come out, they will come out really hard. -- French

:21:53. > :21:55.team. Really low to start with. But as I see fatigue, I see the tackles

:21:56. > :22:00.going higher, soaking up a little bit. It is going to be an 80 minute

:22:01. > :22:05.game. I think the intensity that you put in the game is so high but after

:22:06. > :22:08.60 minutes we might struggle. We think the bench will be very

:22:09. > :22:13.important for us. Last week against England we struggled with that. I

:22:14. > :22:17.think we need to but some power in. The French back is the area we have

:22:18. > :22:22.had in the last years and that is why I think we will try to, get into

:22:23. > :22:27.the contact and try and drop the ball from you guys. International

:22:28. > :22:32.rugby is a game of inches. You see them getting across the gain line

:22:33. > :22:37.here. But the accuracy of the passing, Finn Russell, Hugh Jones,

:22:38. > :22:42.fizzing out very flat passes to get the space to Stuart Hogg. If those

:22:43. > :22:46.passes are slightly behind he has to slow down and does not get in. It

:22:47. > :22:51.was a brilliant combination of hard work and executing good skills. We

:22:52. > :22:56.saw that from the French a moment ago. They have got plenty of inches.

:22:57. > :23:00.The biggest pack ever for France. Today the scrum is going to be so

:23:01. > :23:03.important. And maybe for Scotland it is about doing what they did last

:23:04. > :23:08.week and making it not as effective as the opposition would like, not

:23:09. > :23:12.gaining as much from the set pieces. The first two scrums, this is the

:23:13. > :23:15.very first of the day and the ball is sitting there and the more it is

:23:16. > :23:20.sitting there the more power came through from Ireland. The Scottish

:23:21. > :23:25.scrum was obliterated here. The second scrum which we are showing

:23:26. > :23:28.now happened again. This is going to be a long afternoon, you thought.

:23:29. > :23:33.In. It was sheer dominance but the modern game is such that was only

:23:34. > :23:36.six scrums in the whole match. It did not have the influence it might

:23:37. > :23:40.have had in years gone by. This is what Scotland are up against. Look

:23:41. > :23:44.at the French pack. Destroyed England last week. This is what

:23:45. > :23:49.Scotland need to do, try and make it the same game as last week, not set

:23:50. > :23:52.piece dominated or focusing on that, get it fast, wide, get the big

:23:53. > :23:58.forwards running and they have a real chance. This is where Fraser

:23:59. > :24:02.Brown over Ross Ford is interesting. Because of how Ross is built he is

:24:03. > :24:05.so big and has such big hits, he does not really hooked the ball. He

:24:06. > :24:09.relies on power and the weight coming through. Brown does hook the

:24:10. > :24:13.ball. Maybe they are -- maybe they are looking for the quick heel to

:24:14. > :24:16.move the ball away. The French are keeping the best props for the end

:24:17. > :24:19.of the game because the coaches thinking the most important scrums

:24:20. > :24:25.are at the end of the game. Slimani is on the bench. Maybe they will

:24:26. > :24:29.make the decision. Fraser Brown's opposite number is the French

:24:30. > :24:33.captain. His grandparents came over to France from Spain to escape the

:24:34. > :24:34.Spanish Civil War and it is that background which are shaped him as a

:24:35. > :25:01.person and his playing career. Louis Picamoles in charge of it. He

:25:02. > :27:08.has to be, surely... That is good play. And who is there

:27:09. > :27:21.again? The French captain. Brilliant. Guirado for the try. What

:27:22. > :27:44.a try for France and it is the captain who scores.

:27:45. > :27:50.A story of a French sportsman who is incredibly proud of the position he

:27:51. > :27:55.has earned for himself. And what does he bring to this team? He is a

:27:56. > :28:00.hard worker and a great leader. He moved from Perpignon and became the

:28:01. > :28:05.captain of Toulon. You can see against Scotland last year, his

:28:06. > :28:08.passing is much better. And he gets the support in this attack and he

:28:09. > :28:13.manages to score a try at the start of the game. He is very strong in

:28:14. > :28:18.the scrum. Very efficient in the line-out. Even if today the French

:28:19. > :28:24.bank is very heavy and it will be hard to find the target, especially

:28:25. > :28:29.against the greys, he's very efficient to take the ball and slow

:28:30. > :28:34.the pace in the ruck, especially with the back row, which is a big

:28:35. > :28:39.choice from Guy Noves. A big choice in the breakdown, you would think.

:28:40. > :28:43.That is what Scotland did well last week against Ireland, who normally

:28:44. > :28:47.dominate the breakdown. The likes of John Barclay, Hamish Watson, can

:28:48. > :28:51.really make an impact there today. A man who knows the French captain

:28:52. > :28:56.very well is a former team-mate from Toulon, a former all Black, Ali

:28:57. > :28:58.Williams, he also knows a bit about French rugby and Lee McKenzie is

:28:59. > :29:02.going to find out what the things about this French side. You have

:29:03. > :29:07.played alongside some influential captains in your time and you also

:29:08. > :29:12.know Guirado. What does he bring to the French team? Is a special guy.

:29:13. > :29:15.One of the ones who leads by example. He is fearless with his

:29:16. > :29:19.body and gets himself in positions he probably should not. Is one of

:29:20. > :29:23.those leaders were you look at him and go, if he is doing it, I had to

:29:24. > :29:27.do it as well. I really enjoy watching him play. I think is having

:29:28. > :29:31.a big impact on this French team. There has been a bit in the press

:29:32. > :29:35.about the French side not being quite as fit as they should be. Do

:29:36. > :29:40.you agree with that? What other witnesses do they have Scotland must

:29:41. > :29:47.exploit today? Fitness is one of those things in terms of, is the

:29:48. > :29:51.individual fit, or is the team fit? I think the style of French play in

:29:52. > :29:56.the 14 is more difficult and physical and more stop and start. We

:29:57. > :29:59.will see in the Six Nations this year the intensity that all the

:30:00. > :30:01.teams are playing with, maybe the British and Irish Lions have

:30:02. > :30:05.something to do with selection, but they are playing with a real

:30:06. > :30:08.intensity will stop Kirby catching the French out a little bit but

:30:09. > :30:15.generally I do not think they are that unfit.

:30:16. > :30:21.This time last year, Guy Noves had just got his hands on this French

:30:22. > :30:25.side. How much have improved from last year? I think you are talking

:30:26. > :30:29.about cohesiveness. They have had more time together, got the ball,

:30:30. > :30:34.they have said that their priority as a French side, a national side,

:30:35. > :30:37.-- they have got Rand Paul. They are resting, maybe there is a bit more

:30:38. > :30:42.priority in the French side, the club side. I think some good

:30:43. > :30:47.positive changes are happening for the French side. Thanks, Ali. We

:30:48. > :30:52.will hear more from Ali later as part of our commentary team. This

:30:53. > :30:58.man, Louis Picamoles, was certainly one of those worth picking out. He

:30:59. > :31:04.made 131 metres, seven defenders, four off-loads, great game. He has

:31:05. > :31:11.had a journey to the Six Nations very early. We missed him. Every

:31:12. > :31:16.time he has the ball you need to three to -- you need two or three

:31:17. > :31:21.guys to stop him. Between eight and nine, he is very important in the

:31:22. > :31:26.French team. Serin is very quick. His power and speed can make the

:31:27. > :31:30.difference. The guys improved a lot. They are much better. The French

:31:31. > :31:35.coaches are wanting a bit more from him in terms of defence. You need to

:31:36. > :31:39.chop him down the legs. If you go upstairs and tackle him, no chance,

:31:40. > :31:42.he has so much power. That is one of the things Scotland are really good

:31:43. > :31:47.at, they take the legs away and get him to compete on the ground. It's

:31:48. > :31:51.not the whole picture for him, is it? The French would like to see him

:31:52. > :31:55.work a little bit harder than he does. There are two sides of Louis

:31:56. > :31:59.Picamoles. There is the attacking side, where he has got 20 out of 20,

:32:00. > :32:03.and the defensive side, where the French coaches need a bit more from

:32:04. > :32:09.him, they want him to be stronger in the head. I think you can do a bit

:32:10. > :32:18.more on that. He is like you, Thomas! Yeah, I never tackled! You

:32:19. > :32:20.have to tackle when you play rugby. Scotland have plenty of attacking

:32:21. > :32:23.runners. In the autumn internationals, Huw Jones made a

:32:24. > :32:31.name for himself. His journey in international rugby has been

:32:32. > :32:34.slightly unorthodox. Choose life, choose rugby, choose self belief

:32:35. > :32:40.when others doubt you. Choose a gap year in South Africa and take it by

:32:41. > :32:48.storm. Choose your future. Choose Scotland. What a game to get us

:32:49. > :32:54.under way here. They have beaten Ireland in the opening match! Did

:32:55. > :32:59.you manage to calm down a bit after that fantastic win at the weekend?

:33:00. > :33:03.Yes, definitely. We spoke about how we didn't win our first game in the

:33:04. > :33:06.Six Nations for a long time. Beating Ireland was massive. It was probably

:33:07. > :33:13.the hardest game I've ever played, the most defending we have ever

:33:14. > :33:17.done, I think. Tell us about your journey into professional rugby? We

:33:18. > :33:21.you went to South Africa on a gap year, were you heading over there to

:33:22. > :33:24.become a professional rugby player? No,. Particularly. I thought taking

:33:25. > :33:28.a gap year was a great idea because I didn't really want to go uni

:33:29. > :33:33.straightaway. I took the opportunity to go down to Cape Town and join an

:33:34. > :33:37.amateur club. I think one of the analysts saw on our university

:33:38. > :33:42.Wikipedia page that I was Scottish because I was born in Edinburgh. And

:33:43. > :33:45.obviously immediately made a few calls, got in contact. It's always

:33:46. > :33:50.been a dream of mine to play in the Six Nations. To finally got some

:33:51. > :33:55.might get my first time in the Six Nations and to get a win is a dream

:33:56. > :34:01.come true. This is imperative for a centre of Scotland. This was the

:34:02. > :34:07.final one. Usually those players are joking and thinking, imagine if we

:34:08. > :34:11.did this? To go for it in the game was quite brave but it paid off. How

:34:12. > :34:15.would you sum yourself up as a player? What are your qualities? I

:34:16. > :34:23.am an instinctive player, I play the situation as it is, as I see it.

:34:24. > :34:27.Scottish rugby is really lucky to have you one side. I suppose if

:34:28. > :34:34.there is any concern about you, you could sum it up in three words, jam

:34:35. > :34:37.and eggs! What is this?! I don't know where I got this from. One

:34:38. > :34:42.morning I just decided I was going to have jam on my toes, and then I

:34:43. > :34:45.was offered eggs as well and thought, why not put them all

:34:46. > :34:50.together? It's one of my favourite breakfasts, it goes really well, I

:34:51. > :34:55.urge everyone to try it. Let's dared to France. Our big occasion are you

:34:56. > :34:59.expecting this to be? It should be massive. It's my first ever time in

:35:00. > :35:03.Paris as well. So I'm quite excited about that. Coming here, I think it

:35:04. > :35:06.will be a massive occasion, a massive game. They lost their first

:35:07. > :35:10.game so they will be wanting to bounceback, we want to keep this

:35:11. > :35:18.momentum going, really. It should be a huge one. Well, the gap year is

:35:19. > :35:22.going from well! It got him to Paris for the first time. What a find he

:35:23. > :35:27.was, clever scouting. Born in Edinburgh and very much part of the

:35:28. > :35:30.Scotland setup. He showed his nerves in the autumn test with this moment

:35:31. > :35:34.right here. Nobody knew much about him but we certainly did after the

:35:35. > :35:38.first couple of games. He took that try really well. He was an

:35:39. > :35:44.instinctive player, this is what he does. Just a little butter footwork.

:35:45. > :35:49.The pace was just so good -- the drill bit of footwork. He is not

:35:50. > :35:54.just a try scorer, he a tri-. The off-loading to make them. He did it

:35:55. > :35:58.in the autumn Test. He had a relatively quiet game last week. It

:35:59. > :36:02.might be his turn this afternoon. I think he is going to be better this

:36:03. > :36:07.week. He hadn't played since the last November Test. I think he had

:36:08. > :36:14.six weeks' holiday after that Test because of the changing seasons. He

:36:15. > :36:16.has so much talent and I think you will be even better for this week.

:36:17. > :36:18.What is great with the Scottish backline, it's not just one

:36:19. > :36:24.attacking force. It's not just Stuart Hogg or Huw Jones, you have

:36:25. > :36:27.firepower all over the place. It might be a Seymour or Maitland or

:36:28. > :36:32.Russell. It wasn't necessarily Finn Russell's greatest game last

:36:33. > :36:36.weekend. He is one player who you can rely on with consistency, but he

:36:37. > :36:39.didn't have many moments in the games developed he has that ability

:36:40. > :36:43.to do something. Sometimes it might not be him making the break, but he

:36:44. > :36:47.has ability to make space for somebody else. A key part of the

:36:48. > :36:51.Scottish game. There is so much talent and excitement in that

:36:52. > :36:56.backline. Stuart Hogg will today on his 50th cap for Scotland before the

:36:57. > :37:00.age of 25. I mean, this is a phenomenal record when you look down

:37:01. > :37:06.at the history, you see the players that he is jumping ahead of in terms

:37:07. > :37:10.of that cap rate. Look at the confidence he has scoring tries,

:37:11. > :37:13.flicking it over to Tim Visser to go in the corner. You thought he was on

:37:14. > :37:18.good form last year in this game, but last week he took it to a whole

:37:19. > :37:25.new level, scoring a try like this, which you would expecting to do.

:37:26. > :37:28.This was a team try. This is what he has got, the pace, the balance, the

:37:29. > :37:31.vision, the awareness, just fantastic. He is so relaxed, though,

:37:32. > :37:35.and he is loving his rugby. I sent him a message this morning to say,

:37:36. > :37:40.good luck in your 50th game. I asked him, what are you up to this

:37:41. > :37:43.morning? EZ, I'm hiding in the cupboard, Tommy Seymour is in the

:37:44. > :37:47.toilet and I'm going to give him a fright! That is when he is at his

:37:48. > :37:51.best, he's a free spirit. The French team, you know, they will have to be

:37:52. > :37:56.careful with the kicks. If give some balls to him, he will make the

:37:57. > :38:01.difference. He has got a lower gravity, you know. He can run very

:38:02. > :38:05.fast, he is very skilful. You told me he is getting 50 caps today. He

:38:06. > :38:13.said he wants to get 53 caps because that will make him the most capped.

:38:14. > :38:17.I'm sure Jim would be happy to see him go on to 100 if he keeps playing

:38:18. > :38:21.rugby like this and keeps being at the forefront of famous Scottish

:38:22. > :38:25.victories. It brings me round of the inevitable question. Predictions,

:38:26. > :38:28.Andy? I said earlier, if Scotland can play the fast and fluid game

:38:29. > :38:32.that they have last week they have got a real chance. If it is set

:38:33. > :38:35.piece dominated, that brings France right input. The confidence Scotland

:38:36. > :38:40.have got last week, winning that game when it looks like they were

:38:41. > :38:47.coming close, you cannot quantify the confidence you get from winning.

:38:48. > :38:52.We have shown that we can compete against the best, the French team. I

:38:53. > :38:58.really think it is time to win now. I get the final say, do I? It's all

:38:59. > :39:02.down to you! It shouting out for a draw, isn't it with Becks mark you

:39:03. > :39:10.can't have one vote for Scotland, one for France and won a draw! If

:39:11. > :39:14.France are able to get in from a physical point of view it will be

:39:15. > :39:18.difficult. I believe this team are ready to win for Scotland. We have

:39:19. > :39:25.to get take falling all over us. The atmosphere is incredible. We know

:39:26. > :39:29.the crowd can turn on the team if they don't like what they see.

:39:30. > :39:34.Scotland are going to try and get a very famous victory. You have to go

:39:35. > :39:37.back to 1999, the last time that Scotland won here. As they line up

:39:38. > :39:41.from the anthems, you are going to hear from your commentary team,

:39:42. > :40:11.Chris Paterson, Andy Williams and Andrew Cotter.

:40:12. > :40:21.# Of Lara Scotland # -- oh Flower Of Scotland

:40:22. > :41:14.# When will we see you again # And in the past they must remain

:41:15. > :41:24.hatched But we can still rise now # But we can still rise now

:41:25. > :42:09.# And be the nation again # Allons enfants de la Patrie

:42:10. > :42:20.# Le jour de gloire est arrive! # Contre nous de la tyrannie

:42:21. > :42:31.# L'etendard sanglant est leve # L'etendard sanglant est

:42:32. > :42:43.leve # Aux armes,

:42:44. > :42:49.citoyens Marchons, marchons! #

:42:50. > :42:56.COMMENTATOR: Great noise around the Stade de France. We had some moments

:42:57. > :43:02.of reflection. Yesterday came the news that a former All Black had

:43:03. > :43:07.died. And of course, last week the news came that the very

:43:08. > :43:12.inspirational South African player had lost his battle against motor

:43:13. > :43:13.neurone disease. A moment of pause to remember Lewis van der

:43:14. > :43:57.Westhuizen. What a player, Joos van Nawaz

:43:58. > :44:01.Tewson, was. He remembered here. Look at this enormous pack that Guy

:44:02. > :44:06.Noves has chosen once again. Atonio the biggest of them all. Maestri a

:44:07. > :44:11.vast creature in the second. There is one change with Goujon coming

:44:12. > :44:20.into the back. And in the backs, same again, the dangerous fullback

:44:21. > :44:24.Scott Spedding impressed last week. The wingers will certainly be a

:44:25. > :44:30.handful. The one change to Scotland comes in the form of Ryan Wilson.

:44:31. > :44:36.John Barclay in at the flag. Allan Dell had a tough time last week. He

:44:37. > :44:42.will opt to get underneath Atonio in the scrum. Zander Fagerson at tight

:44:43. > :44:46.head. No changes to the backs. Dunbar and Jones looking to tighten

:44:47. > :44:48.up defence today. A French newspaper said that Russell and Hogg are the

:44:49. > :45:06.best attacking players. Slimani for Scotland. John Hardie

:45:07. > :45:12.has made it timely recovery from injury. You can see, the South

:45:13. > :45:16.African referee. A charity kick-off before we get underway in this that

:45:17. > :45:22.the France. The pitch as well is pristine. They have been having

:45:23. > :45:26.problems with the pitch at the Stade de France in the past. It has been

:45:27. > :45:32.delayed and it looks superb. We're about ready to get underway.

:45:33. > :45:36.Vakatawa, so dangerous in the wings. Scotland were gathered in a huddle

:45:37. > :45:42.for a long while Blair as France were relaying information. Full to

:45:43. > :45:44.capacity at Stade de France. The final game this weekend of the Six

:45:45. > :45:49.Nations. Camille Lopez will get us under way.

:45:50. > :46:07.Stuart Hogg will expect today. So, Camille Lopez it is to get the

:46:08. > :46:11.game going in this that the France. Taking a real stretch by Jonny Gray.

:46:12. > :46:30.Then carried by Richie. Immediately, the captain, Guirado,

:46:31. > :46:33.taking down by Alex Dunbar. Serin complaints. The penalty is earned by

:46:34. > :46:40.Scotland's defence. France hanging on. And interesting setup. Great

:46:41. > :46:45.kick off with Jonny Gray. Scotland tried to exit. They were turned over

:46:46. > :46:50.to midfield. A really good one down the channels. Finn Russell cleared

:46:51. > :46:59.the penalty. It is a kick. You would have been proud of that. You have

:47:00. > :47:02.really got to settle yourself. He sets himself quite well bear and

:47:03. > :47:10.takes it. That's going to be interesting. Fiercely contested in

:47:11. > :47:15.the middle. Jonny Gray got it down for Scotland. Spins into the

:47:16. > :47:20.challenge. Scotland's first visit to the French, up against a few of his

:47:21. > :47:25.team-mates today. Hamish Watson, flat ball inside, carried in by

:47:26. > :47:30.Tommy Seymour from the wing. A little false start. Tries to carry,

:47:31. > :47:43.hold him up. Comes back from Laidlaw. Back by Sebastian

:47:44. > :47:44.Vahaamahina, who is sizeable. The brass band is playing. Strauss

:47:45. > :47:56.carries again. A little spell from Zander Fagerson.

:47:57. > :47:58.France have the ball. They don't need the scrum is. Nakaitaci this

:47:59. > :48:19.time. Still going. Great power. France making good ground. Still

:48:20. > :48:26.with France. Nakaitaci again, gets it to Vakatawa, things looking up

:48:27. > :48:30.for France. Goujon! Into the 22. Guirado throws his body in, and the

:48:31. > :48:41.ball comes back. Maitland is a flyer. The last line of defence was

:48:42. > :48:47.there. France hurled bodies upon it. Hamish Watson has to leave. And now

:48:48. > :48:48.France in that intersection. Huw Jones flying up, couldn't quite get

:48:49. > :48:59.it. Wow, what a start! That was

:49:00. > :49:02.incredible. By the way, there is a mad Fijian running around there with

:49:03. > :49:12.no but on, makes it even more interesting! Soap -- no but on. The

:49:13. > :49:16.turnover left to right. Duchamp carries outside channels. A

:49:17. > :49:20.turnover, Scotland play a lot of pressure on. Look at Allan Dell,

:49:21. > :49:28.flipping it away. We thought Sean Maitland was going to make it all

:49:29. > :49:34.the way. Such an open game, such physicality in the contest. Such

:49:35. > :49:41.physicality in every tackle. He has taken an early knock, Serin.

:49:42. > :49:43.Machenaud could come on for him. It was actually Serin who made it back

:49:44. > :49:57.to make the tackle. Maitland is brisk and has a yard of

:49:58. > :50:00.pace. He is very, very quick indeed. So, I think all players welcoming

:50:01. > :50:06.the pause there. The opening three minutes have been entertaining. So,

:50:07. > :50:10.heading towards the first scrum, which will be interesting as well.

:50:11. > :50:14.France have the bigger men, certainly. This will be an

:50:15. > :50:19.interesting contest, because you have smaller men such as Allan Dell

:50:20. > :50:25.for Scotland against Antonio. It doesn't necessarily follow the great

:50:26. > :50:30.scrummagers, big men, there are ways around that. Definitely. France are

:50:31. > :50:34.going into this game with a huge mindset of the scrum, the first one

:50:35. > :50:34.is important. There is a difference in the pathways, an enormous

:50:35. > :50:49.difference. Scotland holding firm at the moment.

:50:50. > :50:53.Serin takes and gets to Camille Lopez, he took his time there. It is

:50:54. > :51:01.high, Maitland underneath it. Nakaitaci getting his attention.

:51:02. > :51:07.Scotland's ball to play with again. A little shuffle forward from

:51:08. > :51:12.Barclay. Now Rosol. Tries to chase it down himself. Finds its way to

:51:13. > :51:23.Camille Lopez. Deep into the Scottish 22.

:51:24. > :51:29.Stuart Hogg loves a spiralling kick, it's old school, a beautiful kick to

:51:30. > :51:37.watch. It will be France's line-out just outside the Scottish half. A

:51:38. > :51:41.controlled exit, I thought Nakaitaci could have put more pressure on Sean

:51:42. > :51:46.Maitland. Finn Russell identified the space behind him. It was

:51:47. > :51:49.actually Guirado, the French captain, who was in the line.

:51:50. > :51:59.Straight over the top. So, France, a bit of invention at

:52:00. > :52:08.the line-out. Carrying the whole ten metre line. Serin again, just held

:52:09. > :52:19.off by Sebastian Vahaamahina. Serin points the way. They will try to

:52:20. > :52:27.venture down the blindside. But Scotland strip it, illegally so,

:52:28. > :52:33.says Jakupovic. -- says Jaco Peyper. Both sides are being direct in the

:52:34. > :52:39.first and second phase. The forwards coming round, creating a bit of go

:52:40. > :52:44.forward and going wide. The French have contact us well, already have

:52:45. > :52:46.three or four off-loads. They have averaged almost 19 off-loads in the

:52:47. > :52:52.games in the last few months. You can see the big ball-carriers. A

:52:53. > :52:56.shot at goal for Camille Lopez, who scored all 15 points in the win here

:52:57. > :53:04.against Scotland a couple of years ago. This is the reason for the

:53:05. > :53:07.infringement. Josh Strauss was OK initially, he was in a good

:53:08. > :53:08.position. He went back with his hand and was penalised for not supporting

:53:09. > :53:26.his own body weight. A good strike! Three points for

:53:27. > :53:27.France. Six minutes gone inside the Stade de France. And the home side

:53:28. > :53:41.Leeds. A tough kick for an opener, almost

:53:42. > :53:45.50 metres on the angle on the left-hand side for the left footer,

:53:46. > :53:48.but a good strike by Camille Lopez. He is really important to how the

:53:49. > :53:56.French play today if he is on song, you can affect the game as of late.

:53:57. > :54:03.-- he can affect the game massively. Well taken on the far side.

:54:04. > :54:13.Given to the giant, Atonio. Back to the cow, and an! -- back to

:54:14. > :54:24.Scotland try and hold their man up. France tried to get it to ground,

:54:25. > :54:28.but they do not. Scotland get into the scrum. And explain what's going

:54:29. > :54:38.on there, trying to get them all to ground. There was a couple of things

:54:39. > :54:42.on there. It was well taken, Gael Fickou decides to take it at the

:54:43. > :54:48.last minute. I think the ball slipped out by hand of Spedding.

:54:49. > :54:54.Barry is an side. With the help of Jonny Gray, they managed to hold the

:54:55. > :54:59.player off. And then the ball is turned over. If you can't get the

:55:00. > :55:05.ball to ground, you lose possession. Duchamp in on the flank for France

:55:06. > :55:21.today. A good attacking position. We have the blindside.

:55:22. > :55:29.Interesting, the referee, Jaco Peyper, taking the weight, he wants

:55:30. > :55:35.the Scottish team to put more weight and engage more rather than sit back

:55:36. > :55:45.a bit. A lot of weight coming through from the French side.

:55:46. > :55:56.France, Strauss, has to be quick. Just without into touch, was it

:55:57. > :56:04.Serin? France will have the scrum. But again, it might be a hard

:56:05. > :56:10.afternoon for the Scottish scrum. France or in control. Scotland

:56:11. > :56:14.wanted to go the opposite way. Opening up the play. France wanted

:56:15. > :56:19.out on the left, a lot of the power coming through from Cyril Baille.

:56:20. > :56:22.That makes it difficult for Scotland to feed the ball to the right-hand

:56:23. > :56:35.side. They are forced to turn over. So, French ball now.

:56:36. > :56:44.Atonio rep linger way. Down he goes. -- rippling. There were not that

:56:45. > :56:48.many scrums in Scotland versus Ireland. I think there were five or

:56:49. > :56:50.six. That played into Scotland's hands. France would want to use an

:56:51. > :57:01.obvious area of superiority. They look to dominate that set piece

:57:02. > :57:04.area, they want to dominate it. Looking at the French backline, they

:57:05. > :57:12.all very flat. It suggests they are going to kick to clear. Sometimes if

:57:13. > :57:15.you have real confidence in your set piece scrum, you know it is going to

:57:16. > :57:19.be stable or you can manipulate it one way or the other. The flat

:57:20. > :57:25.lines, as a Scotsman and you are thinking, who is able to kick that

:57:26. > :57:31.and have that chase? Down it goes, square and steady. Square and steady

:57:32. > :57:37.from Scotland, free kick to France. You can see from the shots,

:57:38. > :57:44.launching their bid for the France 2023 World Cup. It's a sorting out

:57:45. > :57:54.period of their front row. What's your technique? Are you engaging, or

:57:55. > :58:01.do you want to take the battle? Hi from Lopez, taken well by Hogg. Who

:58:02. > :58:06.has got himself away. Flat ball, Richie Gray, the power drives on

:58:07. > :58:10.through Serin, the slight figure at scrum-half. Scotland on the front

:58:11. > :58:28.foot again. Huw Jones, Goujon gets to him.

:58:29. > :58:35.Pacult up so quickly. Fagerson, -- tackles up. Fagerson, a lump of a

:58:36. > :58:39.man who allows what is to hit him. Scotland half a dozen phases, but

:58:40. > :58:43.heading backwards at the moment. Hamish Watson, trying to stand still

:58:44. > :58:58.with the ball rolling on. So, the decision, through Spedding

:58:59. > :59:03.with plenty of time, it sits up for the fullback. And he puts but an

:59:04. > :59:08.ball. Again, Scotland, plenty of ball to play with but not much

:59:09. > :59:12.doing. They are being met with very fierce defence. The cat this

:59:13. > :59:18.contact, leading by example. Fagerson being hit by Picamoles --

:59:19. > :59:22.look at this contact. Rolling hard onto the ball, putting pace, but

:59:23. > :59:25.being met with the physicality from the French defence. When Stuart Hogg

:59:26. > :59:29.kicked that goal away, it looked as if it was a great option. But I

:59:30. > :59:35.think they had to get the ball and put pressure. I think it says

:59:36. > :59:38.something about Scotland's front row options at the moment that Fagerson

:59:39. > :59:42.was asked to play 80 minutes last week. The youngest man in the Six

:59:43. > :59:52.Nations. If the line-out goes wrong. And, a chance now for France. Given

:59:53. > :59:56.to Fickou, onward to Spedding. The winger, Nakaitaci. Scotland use

:59:57. > :00:01.touch as their friend, and it helps them out in the end. The set pieces

:00:02. > :00:05.are not going well for the visitors. No, we talk about props, they play

:00:06. > :00:10.60 minutes now effectively. You know how important the depth is in a

:00:11. > :00:16.squad. A lot will be asked again Fagerson today stop like this is

:00:17. > :00:19.actually a good defence. Huw Jones helping out Sean Maitland. I like

:00:20. > :00:23.the fact that props are playing 80 minutes. It should be expected of

:00:24. > :00:28.them. I think credit is on the Fagerson, he did that. He has a

:00:29. > :00:32.strong game. -- credit to Fagerson. He has a huge workrate. Barclay

:00:33. > :00:37.lets, got it down to Laidlaw, and Phil Russell sees a little bit of

:00:38. > :00:43.open countryside. Beautifully placed kick by Russell. Quickly taken by

:00:44. > :00:44.France, and in two attack you. Under pressure. Does well to get that

:00:45. > :00:53.pass. Scotland will have the line-out an

:00:54. > :01:04.hour in just about the same place. Taken back into the 22. Worked very

:01:05. > :01:07.well for Scotland. The universe. Scotland are very confident with

:01:08. > :01:11.their line-out. I think this will be a big platform for them for the

:01:12. > :01:20.whole match. Just to attain a bit of certainty around the clarity of

:01:21. > :01:26.staff. Kicked by Finn Russell. Jonny Gray took it down for Scotland. Held

:01:27. > :01:32.at the back by Fraser Brown. Scotland going nowhere. They have

:01:33. > :01:38.used it once. Brown spins it to Laidlaw. Out it comes to Russell. A

:01:39. > :01:49.risky pass. Nakaitaci stops him quickly and the French crowd

:01:50. > :01:55.appreciate that. Watson. Such a low sense of gravity always gets

:01:56. > :02:02.forward. Richie Gray. Laidlaw almost through. Scotland looking for the

:02:03. > :02:08.quick ball. Johnny Gray now. Flung himself into that challenge. Strauss

:02:09. > :02:18.and Richie Gray alongside each other. Scotland making inches and

:02:19. > :02:25.then feet. Johnny Gray plays it back. Trying to secure the turnover,

:02:26. > :02:29.it is just still there. And. John Barclay, a hard effort. Good defence

:02:30. > :02:33.by France but Scotland making a little more ground. Strauss and

:02:34. > :02:44.Richie Gray again, the big men for Scotland. Sapping both attack and

:02:45. > :02:51.defence. Still Scottish ball. And again you can hear the hits as John

:02:52. > :02:56.Barclay is wading in. Just a bit slow for Scotland and Strauss once

:02:57. > :03:03.more from a stamped -- Stan still does well. Taken without the ball.

:03:04. > :03:09.Fagerson hazard. A free attack powerful Scotland. Might be a little

:03:10. > :03:14.poke over from Russell. Still skipping through. Still advantage.

:03:15. > :03:23.15 faces. Not quite going to hand. He gets away and Stuart Hogg scores

:03:24. > :03:29.in the corner! He has done it again! Four games in a row he has scored in

:03:30. > :03:36.the Six Nations! You cannot stop this man. It was his tribe at 18 try

:03:37. > :03:43.as well. He had the advantage which gave him the attack. Hugh Jones with

:03:44. > :03:46.a full account. Lopez as well. He was never ever going to have any

:03:47. > :03:53.other outcome than a Scottish try. That came after near on 15 phases of

:03:54. > :03:57.really hard ball carrying from the Scottish team. Hard attack from the

:03:58. > :04:03.French as well but credit to the players up front for continuously

:04:04. > :04:07.kicking the ball with the contact wearing down the French defence.

:04:08. > :04:13.Stuart Hogg has done it again. Three tries in two games. Great return for

:04:14. > :04:17.Scotland in the opening quarter of the game. The energy levels have

:04:18. > :04:21.really picked up in the commentary box! I'm going to have to bring it

:04:22. > :04:30.back down and give more credit to the French. This is incredible.

:04:31. > :04:44.Not the most difficult of -- the most difficult of conversions for

:04:45. > :04:50.Greig Laidlaw. Not quite got the energy. Will it prove important at

:04:51. > :04:57.the end? John Barclay is not a ball-carrier. His strength is more

:04:58. > :05:01.in the breakdown. A linking player. But one of the rules is to carry

:05:02. > :05:07.hard. That is a perfect example of doing exactly what you'll team needs

:05:08. > :05:11.you to do to set up that platform. This one is taken by France. An

:05:12. > :05:19.immediate chance to launch an attack of their own. Lopez gives it to

:05:20. > :05:28.Gourdon, the open side flanker. Quickly through the hands. Spending

:05:29. > :05:31.just gets it away. With the charge again, Spedding. An advantage to

:05:32. > :05:38.France as well. A penalty is coming their way now. He gives it to

:05:39. > :05:42.Atonio. Out wide now, Picamoles. Picamoles just barging his way into

:05:43. > :05:51.the 22 and France making huge ground. Still pen is the advantage

:05:52. > :05:57.for France. Death penalty advantage. Looking for it. All the way back now

:05:58. > :06:02.for the penalty, obstruction by Scotland and France will have a

:06:03. > :06:06.chance to take the lead again. Obstructing number nine. Do you have

:06:07. > :06:09.a number. The interesting element for me is Scotland are defending

:06:10. > :06:13.well in the centre of the field but pushing France White to play with

:06:14. > :06:17.wit and that is when they are really attacking the ball at the breakdown

:06:18. > :06:23.and getting the fruit Saborit and getting the odd turnover. We can see

:06:24. > :06:28.how dangerous the French are. Scott Spedding drives through. Well

:06:29. > :06:31.tackled by Finn Russell, I think. Already there was an infringement.

:06:32. > :06:40.Hamish Watson put the block on the French scrum-half. More great stuff.

:06:41. > :06:44.So two great games yesterday. The third game this weekend not letting

:06:45. > :06:49.us down so far. Different games, yes. Different games. Both good in

:06:50. > :07:03.their own right. Camille Lopez. Now his second attempt.

:07:04. > :07:14.Through it goes. France lead once more. 20 minutes gone and a very

:07:15. > :07:20.exciting opening quarter. And France with two penalties from Camille

:07:21. > :07:24.Lopez hit the front. One thing for me is how hard they had to work for

:07:25. > :07:33.their try and how quickly the French scored points after conceding points

:07:34. > :07:48.to go back ahead. Starts again. Once more, good work by Vakatawa. Serin.

:07:49. > :07:55.Wonderful carry on now. Again it came from very little. Gael Fickou.

:07:56. > :08:03.Picamoles. Just behind him, it went backwards. Picamoles salvages the

:08:04. > :08:10.situation. And France still in a promising position. The pass goes

:08:11. > :08:19.loose but also backwards. Now taken in by Nakaitaci. Again and loose

:08:20. > :08:24.with the tackles coming in for Scotland. The ball is out and

:08:25. > :08:28.Scotland tried to take it on. A little knock forward so it is a

:08:29. > :08:35.French ball at the scrum. Dunbar taking a never -- another thump

:08:36. > :08:43.there. He is down and taking more treatment. Absolute chaos, wasn't

:08:44. > :08:48.it? Vern Cotter has been trying to create chaos but that was chaotic.

:08:49. > :08:53.No lack of physicality or bravery but pretty chaotic. The French loose

:08:54. > :09:00.head getting treatment as well. Dunbar has now been down twice.

:09:01. > :09:09.Looks rather more serious than a Dunbar. It's back on his feet. -- he

:09:10. > :09:13.is back on his feet. You can see it is a clear message the French are

:09:14. > :09:17.sending, we do not want to go into the tackle with the ball, we want to

:09:18. > :09:20.try and off-load before the tackle. Create that uncertainty and the

:09:21. > :09:27.old-fashioned French style, which is open play. Sean Maitland's need

:09:28. > :09:30.going down on his back. Scotland have had slightly more possession

:09:31. > :09:33.but France when they have had possession have looked quite

:09:34. > :09:34.comfortable and just making the ground a little more easily than

:09:35. > :09:49.Scotland. Scotland do not want to be sucked

:09:50. > :09:59.into too many scrums. Dunbar is attacking in midfield.

:10:00. > :10:06.France will look for a penalty from this scrum and it will be coming.

:10:07. > :10:12.There is only one outcome here. Penalty advantage and a little

:10:13. > :10:15.forward pass and a high tackle. Back for the penalty, a forward pass has

:10:16. > :10:21.been spotted. Penalty from the scrum. It is not a gift, it has to

:10:22. > :10:24.be earned but the scrum on your own ten metre line and the penalty and

:10:25. > :10:29.suddenly France deep into the Scottish 22. This will excite the

:10:30. > :10:33.French forwards. They are beating them on the impact. As soon as they

:10:34. > :10:37.engage they are beating them and putting the Scottish on the back

:10:38. > :10:40.foot. Knowing French rugby like I do they will keep hammering away at

:10:41. > :10:47.this until the Scots can try and fix it. Camille Lopez kick is OK. French

:10:48. > :10:54.liner midway between the 22 and ten metre line. -- line-out. Greig

:10:55. > :10:58.Laidlaw is in real bother as well. He is limping around. Scotland

:10:59. > :11:05.effectively 14 men at the moment. The captain is hobbling. Taken down.

:11:06. > :11:16.Laidlaw. Also some difficulty for France. Walking it along towards the

:11:17. > :11:19.22. And France now on the rampage. Penalty goes to Scotland and nobody

:11:20. > :11:29.will receive that more gratefully than Greig Laidlaw. The crowd like

:11:30. > :11:39.it's not. Laidlaw is looking in serious bother. -- like it is not.

:11:40. > :11:42.Clear line taken at the front and the organiser, a really dynamic

:11:43. > :11:46.ball. Picamoles blasting through the middle. Usually see the attacking

:11:47. > :11:50.tailoring of the side and they came straight through the middle. I think

:11:51. > :11:55.they will be buying Fraser Brown a beer after that because he really

:11:56. > :12:04.saved them then. So often at the heart of it, Picamoles. Stronger

:12:05. > :12:08.with the ball. He used to play on the back row. Laidlaw is struggling,

:12:09. > :12:14.Andrew. Price is going to come on now. A significant blow in terms of

:12:15. > :12:22.kicking. I think his match is over. Finn Russell will take the kicks. He

:12:23. > :12:25.is more a running scrum-half. Price is very quick. Has played

:12:26. > :12:31.particularly well for Glasgow. Almost number one choice after his

:12:32. > :12:36.displays in Europe. He is very quick, very quick passing, he will

:12:37. > :12:42.look to take a quick tap and bring a tempo to the game. One from the

:12:43. > :12:46.bench late against Georgia. Hands above his head, Laidlaw. Celebration

:12:47. > :12:56.last week and now sheer frustration. Price is on at scrum-half for

:12:57. > :13:02.Scotland. Use it once! Flying in, Fraser Brown. He saw Atonio in front

:13:03. > :13:09.of him. All around him, really. He did well. Richie Gray sends it back.

:13:10. > :13:15.Price's first touch. Russell scooping it up. A bit of a slice.

:13:16. > :13:21.Usually advantage to the man running onto it. So it is taken down well.

:13:22. > :13:32.France again now. A bit of space out wide through the middle first of all

:13:33. > :13:41.goes Guirado. On again they come through Goujon. And then Gourdon

:13:42. > :13:51.almost back on his feet and driving along. Now to Gael Fickou. Fickou on

:13:52. > :13:56.to Vakatawa. Lovely ball inside the back. Looking for the return. And

:13:57. > :14:03.France again making huge ground. Flat pass carried in by Yoann

:14:04. > :14:07.Maestri. And a dummy runner making a bit of a mess of it and gets

:14:08. > :14:14.Scotland a chance to play but it might be turned over. Price has gone

:14:15. > :14:23.in. Well... It that penalty is turned over that will be hugely

:14:24. > :14:29.frustrating for Scotland. -- if that penalty.

:14:30. > :14:35.Leave it. That is it. That is the way to deal with it. I will wait for

:14:36. > :14:53.him to finish first. He will calm things down. Let's hear

:14:54. > :15:06.the chat. First of all, his assistant. Now standing captain

:15:07. > :15:09.shoved a player away. I think the reason he shoved him is because he

:15:10. > :15:17.is trying to take the ball away. He cannot just run up and shot him. It

:15:18. > :15:22.was Luke appears saying the reason he shoved him was this but it does

:15:23. > :15:25.not matter. Here is the problem, previous penalty, you did the same.

:15:26. > :15:30.I want you not to do it. All right? Do not take the law into your own

:15:31. > :15:35.hands. I will deal with it. I am going to reverse this penalty for

:15:36. > :15:39.discipline. It is price just on the field in his frustration and the

:15:40. > :15:46.penalty is reversed and Camille Lopez will have a shot at goal

:15:47. > :15:53.again. French just realising the penalty has been reversed. France

:15:54. > :15:56.will play sharply. I have noticed Louis Picamoles, such an influential

:15:57. > :16:02.player last week, has been on the outside channel carrying the ball

:16:03. > :16:08.outside. Goujon came too quickly and that was a penalty for obstruction.

:16:09. > :16:14.Lopez had the ball, dropped it and Alex Price gives him a push. --

:16:15. > :16:19.Alistair price. And now they are going to face another three points

:16:20. > :16:24.possibly from Camille Lopez. There is enough excitement in the game, we

:16:25. > :16:38.do not need that, labs -- lads. You have got to keep it clean. Lopez

:16:39. > :16:46.hooked it. First to react is Russell. Scotland ultimately are

:16:47. > :16:53.spared on that occasion. The relieved man is Alistair Price this

:16:54. > :16:57.time. A great talent, one from the bench against Georgia in November.

:16:58. > :17:09.Here in the cauldron at the Stade de France replacing Greig Laidlaw.

:17:10. > :17:18.Guirado again goes on. Spilled. Lost forward. Strauss has it. Under

:17:19. > :17:28.pressure from Gourdon. And Russell... Advantage is over now.

:17:29. > :17:34.And Spedding gathers. That is a curious kick, just taken by Richie

:17:35. > :17:43.Gray. Russell gets it out wide. And Hogg now. France very aware of his

:17:44. > :17:51.danger. Price to Russell again and onto Brown. Most pass on the inside.

:17:52. > :17:58.And now he gets it onto Vakatawa. Onto 11 macro. On the Lopez. And it

:17:59. > :18:04.is on for Gael Fickou. Two, three, four blue shirts taking him down.

:18:05. > :18:14.Serin again complains. Scrum-half wave. Vahaamahina. Out it comes to

:18:15. > :18:22.Lopez. France look to make good ground again. Goujon. The yardage

:18:23. > :18:26.coming a bit more easily for France. Picamoles, shrugged it off. It is

:18:27. > :18:37.still with France. Through goes Nakaitaci. Atonio... Through to

:18:38. > :18:50.Lopez again. Here comes Lamerat. Gael Fickou. Gael Fickou is still

:18:51. > :18:59.going. Now with Sebastien Vahaamahina. Ten metres out. Inside

:19:00. > :19:05.ball. Still from the giant. Picked up by Vakatawa and out to Lopez. And

:19:06. > :19:15.Spedding into the blue shirts. Half an hour gone. And all France at the

:19:16. > :19:33.moment. The forwards, Maestri, leads them on. Advantage to Scotland, to

:19:34. > :19:37.France. Guirado. Still advantage. Still the penalty advantage to

:19:38. > :19:46.France. Within six metres of the line. Serin looking once more to the

:19:47. > :19:53.forwards. Carried over by Goujon. And once more Sebastien Vahaamahina

:19:54. > :19:59.taken down by Berkeley, still penalty advantage, inside, it comes

:20:00. > :20:06.to Vakatawa. He tried to get the final off-load. Now out wide they

:20:07. > :20:14.try. Camille Lopez. Serin. Wide. Spedding. And the try eventually

:20:15. > :20:20.comes. It had to come for France. The Stade de France roars its

:20:21. > :20:27.approval. The French public are looking for an impact, what a score.

:20:28. > :20:30.So great in defence from Scotland but sometimes no matter how tough

:20:31. > :20:39.and Brady Watt in defence the attack outflank Siew. Brilliant play by the

:20:40. > :20:45.French. -- can outflank you. So much about what we love about French

:20:46. > :20:47.rugby. Fast, off-loading, determined and always willing to give that

:20:48. > :20:52.extra pass and Gael Fickou diving over in the corner. We are talking

:20:53. > :20:56.about great young talent. He has been around for a long time. He made

:20:57. > :21:02.his debut as an 18-year-old, Gael Fickou, now 22. And his fifth try.

:21:03. > :21:08.Scored against Scotland last year. Does it again. A chance to make it

:21:09. > :21:13.13-5. The way France come forward it is just that little bit harder for

:21:14. > :21:17.Scotland, seems harder work. France are getting the ball so quick at the

:21:18. > :21:21.breakdown of the Scottish defence cannot set. The line speed is slow

:21:22. > :21:30.and they cannot attack and cuts down the options for France. Lopez on the

:21:31. > :21:41.touchline. A left footed kicker. Just inside the post this time. 15-5

:21:42. > :21:45.France lead. Gael Fickou's try. There are so many uploads in there

:21:46. > :21:49.as well. We spoke about the size and the weight of the French pack but

:21:50. > :21:52.each and every one of them, look at the hands-free contact, trying to

:21:53. > :21:57.play at a tempo and that was a fantastic drive. Again looking for

:21:58. > :22:05.Vakatawa. A wonderful take coming forward. And Ali Price digging away.

:22:06. > :22:14.Scotland have a platform. On the edge of the 22. Finn Russell. Lovely

:22:15. > :22:17.off-load to Strauss. Batting aside 11 macro. Scotland within seven,

:22:18. > :22:24.eight metres. Penalty advantage now to Scotland. -- batting aside Serin.

:22:25. > :22:31.He runs into the wall and Hamish Watson now, rolling forward. Great

:22:32. > :22:38.power. And still advantage for Scotland. Carried in now by Johnny

:22:39. > :22:48.Gray. Still advantage. With the men in blue. Fraser Brown, Richie Gray

:22:49. > :22:54.trying to drag them along. Still the referee has his arm outstretched for

:22:55. > :22:58.advantage. Johnny Gray planted for it and drives. France said their

:22:59. > :23:04.defence. Almost through the middle. Plays it back. Ali Price giving it

:23:05. > :23:09.on again. It is Brown who carries. Price looking for it. Russell.

:23:10. > :23:13.Russell almost threw himself. Looking for quick ball now. Price,

:23:14. > :23:19.white it goes, it goes, intercepted, they will come for the penalty. The

:23:20. > :23:25.chances that have to be taken. They will have that penalty. It was

:23:26. > :23:33.Baptiste Serin giving away the penalty. Two or three times E has

:23:34. > :23:37.played long advantage which has helped this game. Because there is

:23:38. > :23:41.so many opportunities and attacking play, it took a long advantage for

:23:42. > :23:44.France and a long advantage is there for Scotland. It is great to see

:23:45. > :23:52.because we are seeing some fantastic rugby. They are going for the posts.

:23:53. > :24:01.It comes with the frustration that they were so close to the try. But

:24:02. > :24:05.still very early in this game. The uploads stakeout, don't they? 12-2.

:24:06. > :24:11.I think that is a conscious decision. -- stick out. I think they

:24:12. > :24:18.are really trying to wear down the French which is a very brave thing

:24:19. > :24:21.to do. In both the Scottish set up now for many years and in France as

:24:22. > :24:35.well, a great second row player, Heinz. Russell now taking the kicks.

:24:36. > :24:40.Which he does regularly for Glasgow. They have got some pretty

:24:41. > :24:50.interesting salons here in Paris. -- selling armour here in Paris. --

:24:51. > :24:53.selling along here in Paris. He has struck it well. Five minutes to go

:24:54. > :25:03.in this first half. Greig Laidlaw can only watch. Again the tell-tale

:25:04. > :25:05.signs. Again, they are very concerned, concerning signs for

:25:06. > :25:13.Scotland going forward. Russell gets Scotland within a five. It all came

:25:14. > :25:17.from the restart. He has been taken off the field for a head injury

:25:18. > :25:27.assessment. Who is captain now, they are asking. That half hour has taken

:25:28. > :25:37.its toll. John Hardie will be on for that head injury assessment to John

:25:38. > :25:41.Barclay. Both teams are choosing to attack the ball, to try and get it

:25:42. > :25:46.back. You often see teams saying, I will go for field position and kick

:25:47. > :25:49.it deeper. But both teams are really trying to attack. I think the

:25:50. > :25:53.mindset is clear that they are both wanting to play rugby, which is

:25:54. > :26:00.obvious, they want to play rugby, but attacking. I imagine it is

:26:01. > :26:06.Johnny Gray... In the leadership group, he has captained Glasgow.

:26:07. > :26:21.Here is Johnny Gray. He takes it down. Trying to get the maul moving

:26:22. > :26:24.forward. The ball at the back. John Hardie, number 20, on four John

:26:25. > :26:34.Barclay while he is having that head injury assessment. Mackay touchy

:26:35. > :26:41.waiting for that one. -- Nakaitaci. The assistant says it is fine. The

:26:42. > :26:46.crowd obviously disapproved. I think I would want to check that challenge

:26:47. > :26:53.here. Scotland get it and Scotland get the penalty as well. Since that

:26:54. > :27:01.spell of French dominance the last couple of passages of play have gone

:27:02. > :27:09.Scotland's's wave. They have had a look. -- Scotland's way. This is the

:27:10. > :27:18.penalty. So much pressure. We mentioned the outside channel. Going

:27:19. > :27:24.back to the fair contest. Well... Finn is not going for the ball, is

:27:25. > :27:28.he? I think he is off the pace by a yard and still competing. What saved

:27:29. > :27:32.him here is he is looking at the ball and he is in the air. It is one

:27:33. > :27:37.of those decisions which can really go either way. Scotland are being

:27:38. > :27:39.given a real opportunity here a couple of minutes from half-time to

:27:40. > :28:00.draw within two points. It is straight enough. And bang on

:28:01. > :28:04.the camera. Scotland, it seems certainly against the tide of the

:28:05. > :28:07.match, they are within two points. They have lost their captain, lost

:28:08. > :28:12.their stand in captain at the moment, John Barclay. It is hard

:28:13. > :28:16.work, it is taking it out of them but they are in touch heading

:28:17. > :28:28.towards half-time. The restart again is so important. Lopez and Strauss

:28:29. > :28:34.watching this one for Scotland. And Nakaitaci, got to him. And Ali

:28:35. > :28:43.Price, his second for Scotland. Russell. The laser that pass. Onto

:28:44. > :28:51.Hamish Watson again. -- he delays that pass. Scotland still deep in

:28:52. > :29:01.their own land. Up it goes from price. And through they go now to

:29:02. > :29:10.Goujon. Towards the Scottish 22. And just before half-time France looking

:29:11. > :29:18.to find that try one more time. Vakatawa carried it in. On it goes

:29:19. > :29:21.through Baille and Goujon. Scotland looking to weather the storm one

:29:22. > :29:30.more time and get into the dressing room. A crashed ball from Gourdon.

:29:31. > :29:35.They come forward, they have taken some points, France. The ball is out

:29:36. > :29:41.but it is still there for France as we go towards 40 minutes, carried by

:29:42. > :29:45.Gourdon, John Hardie got them around. Still with France again.

:29:46. > :29:51.Still that sharp all and forward at the heart is over. Scotland will be

:29:52. > :29:55.mightily relieved to get out of this half two points adrift because they

:29:56. > :29:59.were up against it at times. It has been a physical opening 40 minutes.

:30:00. > :30:04.France really carrying the line and hitting Scotland hard. Scotland have

:30:05. > :30:08.taken the physicality to France to try and really wear them down.

:30:09. > :30:14.Should maybe help in the second half. An interesting first half with

:30:15. > :30:24.two fantastic tries. France have the lead, 13 points to 11. STUDIO: That

:30:25. > :30:28.Stuart Hogg try briefly but Scotland ahead on the scoreboard. The bit

:30:29. > :30:33.Scottish player to score in four or more Six Nations games. Gael Fickou

:30:34. > :30:37.likes scoring against Scotland. That helped to take it out for France,

:30:38. > :30:43.putting them ahead 13-11 at half-time. One of the interesting to

:30:44. > :30:46.statistics, metres made. You got to think at some point that will

:30:47. > :30:52.exhaust the French players. That is the Scottish home. Possession even.

:30:53. > :30:56.Tackles made a bit more to France. And carries also fairly even. I

:30:57. > :31:00.guess it isn't even, tight, exciting Test match you would expect from a

:31:01. > :31:09.site that has just defeated Ireland and one just lost against England.

:31:10. > :31:15.It has been tight, physical, intense. We have seen injuries and

:31:16. > :31:18.tries. A good 40 minutes. Their white will Vern Cotter be pleased

:31:19. > :31:23.with how they weathered the storm at the end? I think this is the vital

:31:24. > :31:28.period. With the injury to Greig Laidlaw there was an adaptation

:31:29. > :31:35.period when Alex Rice came on. A couple of penalties at the end. That

:31:36. > :31:39.is a solid first half from Scotland. -- when Ellie Price came on. They

:31:40. > :31:46.missed an opportunity when the penalty was reversed. Thomas, we

:31:47. > :31:49.can't hear you at the rumoured, and we want to hear it back on what

:31:50. > :31:54.you've got to say, so let's get you a mic that works. We showed patience

:31:55. > :32:00.and determination. We have been tremendous, you know, in this first

:32:01. > :32:03.half. The power of our scrum is very interesting. It brings us a very

:32:04. > :32:08.good platform in that game. That smack look back at some of the key

:32:09. > :32:16.moments. Stuart Hogg, a record equalling four consecutive Six

:32:17. > :32:18.Nations tries. We know when he he doesn't always do the obvious thing.

:32:19. > :32:23.Hard work from Finn Russell in this. It was team try, wasn't it? It

:32:24. > :32:27.really was, so many phases. His dancing feet, he takes it back on.

:32:28. > :32:32.Off-loading, trying to off-load all the time. We saw last week,

:32:33. > :32:35.sometimes a bouncing ball can favour the attacking side because the

:32:36. > :32:39.defence are drawn in. But Stuart Hogg just finish us off brilliantly.

:32:40. > :32:46.We can see from behind, the running off the ball that Stuart Hogg does.

:32:47. > :32:49.They are lined up, that is fine. Look at Cyril Baille, doesn't work

:32:50. > :32:55.off the ball as well as Stuart Hogg does. Looking in, I is on the ball,

:32:56. > :33:01.Stuart Hogg has been run. It could have been Hamish Watson. The key

:33:02. > :33:05.thing was that Scotland had an advantage, a penalty advantage. You

:33:06. > :33:08.could see when that was given, there was a raising of the tempo from

:33:09. > :33:14.Scotland. Greig Laidlaw could afford to throw a riskier pass. As we know,

:33:15. > :33:20.we built careers on throwing bad passes to create tries. It can be a

:33:21. > :33:23.key to score. I think Vakatawa, you know, he should have stayed on the

:33:24. > :33:29.wing. He got involved too quickly. He didn't really help his team in

:33:30. > :33:33.that action. It was very similar to the setup for the Argentina try

:33:34. > :33:37.which we saw the start of the programme. Off-loaded it, Scotland

:33:38. > :33:41.were under the cosh at that point, it got them back in the game, got

:33:42. > :33:45.there offensive game going. In many ways, it was the boot of Lopez that

:33:46. > :33:49.was going to keep the scoreboard ticking over for France. But the try

:33:50. > :33:54.of Fickou was very similar, it even try with 18 phases in the end. It is

:33:55. > :33:58.the kind of try that we wouldn't have scored a few years ago. France

:33:59. > :34:04.has changed, we are more patient, you can see that. Fickou was asking

:34:05. > :34:08.for the ball for a very long time. You can see, this French team worked

:34:09. > :34:12.really hard, the forwards worked really hard, and we managed to speed

:34:13. > :34:16.the ball up on the breakdown. All the time we made some off-load and

:34:17. > :34:20.kept the ball for a very long time, which was quite unusual in the last

:34:21. > :34:23.few years. They played with such ambition before that, coming out of

:34:24. > :34:28.their own half, there off-loads, trying to get that ball in. It

:34:29. > :34:37.reminded me of Toulouse in the mid-2000s, when Guy Noves coached

:34:38. > :34:43.them. The French team attacks from the home 22. It was an extraordinary

:34:44. > :34:46.opening three minutes or so. There were two potential interceptions.

:34:47. > :34:50.Maitland nearly made them pay within the first couple of minutes of the

:34:51. > :34:55.match. A breathless start. The passage of play was just incredible.

:34:56. > :34:59.You know, it try from France, they looked very dangerous there.

:35:00. > :35:05.Scotland's defence was good, the ball comes off Mike Brown. Allan

:35:06. > :35:10.Dell gives it to Sean Maitland. -- off the ground. Look at them come

:35:11. > :35:13.virgin. We thought that was stopped, especially when the ball in is

:35:14. > :35:19.knocked on here. France decided to attack in their own half. Big long

:35:20. > :35:24.pass from Spedding. You can see, Huw Jones read the game very well. Look

:35:25. > :35:31.at that he almost got it. He should have had back there. Maitland, look

:35:32. > :35:35.at this. Nakaitaci. He had his boot taken off, watch it very closely.

:35:36. > :35:40.Alex Dunbar has got the red but in his hand. Are you going to put it

:35:41. > :35:45.down? No, I'm going to lob it 40 yards down the pitch! Is that

:35:46. > :35:48.sportsmanship there? I saw the brute emerge I think three times, and then

:35:49. > :35:52.things settle down a bit on the tries came. Picamoles was a man we

:35:53. > :35:57.need to pick out. We talked about him ahead of the match. His workrate

:35:58. > :35:59.was impressive today. The defensive side of his game that you were

:36:00. > :36:04.saying you were hoping you were going to see more of. Exactly, we

:36:05. > :36:08.know how good he is ball in hand. We saw that even in defence today he

:36:09. > :36:13.was quite effective. He made the yards, his tackle was very low, very

:36:14. > :36:17.powerful. And his threat, you know he has the ball on his legs, he uses

:36:18. > :36:22.them very welcome even in defence. He tackles very low. He puts so much

:36:23. > :36:25.pressure on the Scottish players. And they thwart a lot of the

:36:26. > :36:29.Scottish momentum and attack because of that. When the try came from

:36:30. > :36:33.Stuart Hogg, Scotland were able to get an extra foot, next regard, you

:36:34. > :36:37.know, making the next phase a lot easier. It is interesting as the

:36:38. > :36:43.name goes on -- the game goes on, how that affects momentum. He has

:36:44. > :36:49.carried four times, 44 metres, he is doing like a quarter of the meters

:36:50. > :36:54.made. He made three of the off-loads, nearly as much as the

:36:55. > :36:58.Scottish team. A Scottish team which is very dangerous, he might put some

:36:59. > :37:00.pressure on them. One of the things that has impressed about Scotland

:37:01. > :37:04.was the decision making, particularly towards the end. Greig

:37:05. > :37:09.Laidlaw happy composed head on him. To lose him early in this game is

:37:10. > :37:14.undoubtedly a bloke. He has been the go to player for bunker. For so

:37:15. > :37:18.long. His point-scoring and goal-kicking has been exemplary --

:37:19. > :37:23.for Vern Cotter for so long. He played the first 160 minutes in the

:37:24. > :37:26.autumn. He got a knock, you can see his ankle, it looked like it got

:37:27. > :37:30.caught on there and he wasn't right. We were watching it closely, he

:37:31. > :37:34.certainly wasn't happy. He jumps in, it looks like he has maybe got over

:37:35. > :37:41.his ankle. This is a massive baptism by Alex Rice -- Alistair Price. He

:37:42. > :37:45.has been on fire for Glasgow. He made his debut against Georgia, now

:37:46. > :37:49.here he is in the heart of the Six Nations. He has adapted well. He had

:37:50. > :37:54.a wee moment with the push on mopeds, but since then he has passed

:37:55. > :38:00.well, he has organised -- the push on Lopez. He has organised box kicks

:38:01. > :38:05.and have them on the money. His discipline has to be right as well.

:38:06. > :38:11.He wanted to get the ball back of Lopez. He pushes him. You know, keep

:38:12. > :38:14.your head a wee bit. You're not going to get away with that in

:38:15. > :38:21.international rugby. But he reacted well. Another thing. Finn Russell is

:38:22. > :38:25.two from two, that transition it saddled everybody down. When you see

:38:26. > :38:29.Ellie Price next week, what are your words of wisdom to him in a moment

:38:30. > :38:33.like that -- Alistair Price. There was a time when that Bush would not

:38:34. > :38:37.have got you a penalty in international rugby but it is more

:38:38. > :38:40.under the microscope these days. I would say, Alistair, don't do that

:38:41. > :38:46.again, that was rather silly, he'll learn fast, though. He is an

:38:47. > :38:50.experienced player, but he learned fast in Glasgow and he will learn

:38:51. > :38:55.fast today. Plenty more sport to come for you on the BBC this

:38:56. > :39:01.weekend. Ski Sunday is on BBC Two from 5pm. The Baftas mean that much

:39:02. > :39:05.of the day two switches to BBC Two this week. -- match of the day two.

:39:06. > :39:21.That is followed by more Six Nations action.

:39:22. > :39:50.And Lee McKenzie hosts that, she is also inside with Ali Williams. I am,

:39:51. > :39:56.bruising physical first half, just how you like your rugby, Ali. What

:39:57. > :40:00.have you made of it? I think it is a fantastic game. Both sides are

:40:01. > :40:03.really wanting to play attacks, but the defence, the importance of it

:40:04. > :40:07.and the physicality, as we spoke about, is huge. I think the British

:40:08. > :40:10.and Irish Lions are bringing the best out of this competition. I

:40:11. > :40:22.mean, the Scots are really playing with huge energy and desire, and

:40:23. > :40:25.individuals are standing up and saying, what about me? Count me in.

:40:26. > :40:27.For a spectator, I think it's a fantastic atmosphere. Warren Gatland

:40:28. > :40:30.is somewhere in amongst the crowd. What will he have seen that he

:40:31. > :40:31.likes? He will like the energy, the spark and excitement that

:40:32. > :40:35.individuals are showing. It will show the cohesiveness and the times

:40:36. > :40:38.that they are choosing to attack. Now that Alistair Price is on, I

:40:39. > :40:43.think you are getting a bit faster ball. But Laidlaw is a lot more

:40:44. > :40:49.conservative in his approach to attack, it is different. I think the

:40:50. > :40:53.second half might open up even more. We could get an even more exciting

:40:54. > :40:57.day. We knew that France were going to be a big pack. We have seen the

:40:58. > :41:01.scrums and line-outs, the way that the game is being played. There is

:41:02. > :41:04.going to be a big storm coming in the second half. Who is going to

:41:05. > :41:09.whether it best? There is definitely some energy. We saw that with the

:41:10. > :41:14.handbags and fisticuffs before. Which every rugby follower like! But

:41:15. > :41:17.I think what's happening is a set piece, you have got quite even in

:41:18. > :41:21.the line-outs, the scrum, the French have definitely got the dominance

:41:22. > :41:26.there. It's going to come down to a small little factor, whether it is

:41:27. > :41:30.an interception or a decision by Jaco Peyper, who knows? This game is

:41:31. > :41:34.going to open up even more, and I think we in store for a pretty good

:41:35. > :41:38.second-half. You can see how hard both sides had to work for the

:41:39. > :41:41.price. A number of times the ball was recycled, but quickly a penalty

:41:42. > :41:47.makes all the difference. It is called scoreboard pressure. One team

:41:48. > :41:50.is getting the lay of the land and they get points, and the other team

:41:51. > :41:54.is on the defence, but then it changes, men so bike momentum

:41:55. > :42:00.changes. In a game from becoming your time comes. Defence is huge.

:42:01. > :42:04.Most tries are conceded after 10-15 phases of rugby. So, hold the ball

:42:05. > :42:07.on the fruit will come for you. You have dusted off your rugby boots

:42:08. > :42:12.again and you are back playing in France. Does this were the appetite

:42:13. > :42:17.for an international comeback? Or those days over? Those days are well

:42:18. > :42:25.and truly over. The club days are over? I'm still hanging in there, I

:42:26. > :42:28.still have a few more seconds left on the clock. I enjoy living here in

:42:29. > :42:30.France, the energy and excitement they have rugby is second to none.

:42:31. > :42:33.Very exciting, but looking forward to the second-half. Upper back to

:42:34. > :42:38.the commentary box. Enjoy your second-half.

:42:39. > :42:53.Good strike, three points for France. Stuart Hogg scores! He has

:42:54. > :43:10.done it again! It's ever so tight, two points in

:43:11. > :43:14.it. If there is anything that Scotland will want to take from the

:43:15. > :43:17.statistics, in eight out of ten matches from Guy Noves, France have

:43:18. > :43:20.failed to outscore their opponents in the second half. They will be

:43:21. > :43:25.looking to put more daylight between themselves in Scotland. Will you

:43:26. > :43:29.think especially with the weight of the pack, the heavy pack means

:43:30. > :43:35.potentially not as mobile, not as cardiovascular a injury and, being

:43:36. > :43:39.kind? We expect the bench to bring a lot in our team. We know it is going

:43:40. > :43:44.to be difficult. It gets complicated to play against Scotland, because

:43:45. > :43:49.they can score in any breakdown, they can rob you the ball and score,

:43:50. > :43:53.like Maitland did, and go over the line. You need to score very quickly

:43:54. > :43:57.and put some points to be ahead and be confident. You don't want to kind

:43:58. > :44:02.of go along with the cliches of French fitness within the domestic

:44:03. > :44:06.rugby setup, but, you know, we hear the tales of the fact that there is

:44:07. > :44:09.a big gap between the two. You have experience of course, how was the

:44:10. > :44:14.fitness that? It wasn't something that they focused on. They focused

:44:15. > :44:18.on what happened on the pitch, which gives you greater gain sense, but,

:44:19. > :44:24.you know, in an intense game like this, you know, I expect France to

:44:25. > :44:27.tire. That can only really come into effect if Scotland can control the

:44:28. > :44:30.ball. This is a really tight game. Scotland will take confidence and

:44:31. > :44:35.belief from winning a tight game last week against Ireland. I think

:44:36. > :44:38.this will come down to decisions about fitness. If Scotland can

:44:39. > :44:41.control the game and get a bit more fluid, Scotland won this game to be

:44:42. > :44:45.as open as possible in the second half. If they can do that, they can

:44:46. > :44:55.hire them down and still win it. I think Scotland will be happy in the

:44:56. > :44:57.way that first half has gone to a newbie two points down. That gives

:44:58. > :44:59.you a boost in the changing room that they can come out in the

:45:00. > :45:02.second-half. The opportunity for thin -- Finn Russell to have two

:45:03. > :45:07.attempts at goal and score, that gives you confidence. The transition

:45:08. > :45:12.has been made, Price is on, that's it for the second-half. Greig

:45:13. > :45:18.Laidlaw is fantastic, I think he is 85%. Finn Russell is high 70s, early

:45:19. > :45:22.80s kick-out. Not bad for a back-up. He does it week in, week out the

:45:23. > :45:27.Glasgow. You can see him lining up with a smile on his face ready to

:45:28. > :45:35.take the kick. He will enjoy this challenge. What are your hopes for

:45:36. > :45:37.France in the second half? I hope we can score quickly. We know that

:45:38. > :45:40.Scotland can move the ball really well. But they will take some risks.

:45:41. > :45:43.We can maybe score on the mistakes that they could make. But I really

:45:44. > :45:47.hope that we won't change our half-backs to early like we did

:45:48. > :45:51.against England, because I think these half-backs, you know, are well

:45:52. > :45:55.into the game again to date. The crowd behind France. You don't

:45:56. > :46:02.always get that after 40 minutes here. We have heard booing ring out

:46:03. > :46:06.before now. They hope the French team can score themselves the first

:46:07. > :46:10.win of the Six Nations. But Scotland have other plans. Let's drawing our

:46:11. > :46:15.commentary team, Ali Williams, Chris Paterson and Andrew Cotter.

:46:16. > :46:23.COMMENTATOR: Scotland start the second half as they finish. There is

:46:24. > :46:26.Greig Laidlaw. Up against Wales in a fortnight. Scotland within two

:46:27. > :46:30.points. One of the points we are talking about in the studio is

:46:31. > :46:35.fitness, which is to favour fitter sides come the final 20 minutes, the

:46:36. > :46:39.fit of 15s, but that's not the case any more. Have you got players to

:46:40. > :46:46.come on and play 20, 30 minutes from the bench. Fitness is not as much of

:46:47. > :46:49.an advantage as it used to be. But France, from Goujon, a bump from

:46:50. > :46:59.Hardie, and I think Hardie might have done himself in mischief there.

:47:00. > :47:05.And Chardy... Well, no, Hardie and Goujon, I think both players are in

:47:06. > :47:10.trouble. There was a big collision. Goujon was running hard, Hardie hit

:47:11. > :47:12.behind. It is good that the players pointed it out to the referee and

:47:13. > :47:14.the referee stepped in. You could hear that. I think it was on the

:47:15. > :47:27.head. Oh... A sickening thump as they came

:47:28. > :47:30.together. Yeah, they will both have to leave the field, I think.

:47:31. > :47:36.Certainly for an assessment. You can see by the body shape. He has to go

:47:37. > :47:39.and get checked. Both will have their head injury assessment, that

:47:40. > :47:45.is a maximum of ten minutes to be assessed by an independent doctor.

:47:46. > :47:52.John Hardie throws himself in, as quite a lot of back rows do, but the

:47:53. > :47:55.pictures tell the story there. Not really an assessment here. The right

:47:56. > :48:00.thing needs to be done. It's probably his day. He played a match

:48:01. > :48:05.last week for Leinster against Munster, just on the back of an

:48:06. > :48:09.ankle injury sustained in the autumn. James Robinson goes off and

:48:10. > :48:16.Tim Swinson comes on, and John Hardie, Loann Goujon is in a

:48:17. > :48:22.slightly better way. But Tim Swinson is on. By nature a second row but

:48:23. > :48:25.can play back row as well. It will be interesting to see of Swinson

:48:26. > :48:29.goes to the second row and maybe Jonny Gray drops back. It looks like

:48:30. > :48:35.Swinson is going to go to the blindside. They both can play back

:48:36. > :48:40.row. As you can see, the duty of care and the accuracy of how head

:48:41. > :48:46.injuries are treated, it is of vital importance. The most important thing

:48:47. > :48:49.is that he is OK. That is a big loss on top of John Barclay. Scotland

:48:50. > :48:59.have lost two very heavy back rowers. There he is, Swinson,

:49:00. > :49:01.packing down number 19 on the flank. Early in the match today, using up

:49:02. > :49:17.the reserves on the bench. Got to keep it up, got to keep it

:49:18. > :49:21.up. If there is confession, it's three weeks to go. There is a whole

:49:22. > :49:28.set of protocols you need to go through -- if it is concussion. They

:49:29. > :49:32.have to do the protocol. You get a maximum of three weeks, if you are

:49:33. > :49:37.under 18 it is mandatory three weeks. But the best junior cow will

:49:38. > :49:41.always be taken with these guys. First scrum of the second -- the

:49:42. > :49:50.best duty of care. It goes to France.

:49:51. > :49:58.Every side does it. There is still a little letter in the law that it is

:49:59. > :50:07.supposed to go down to a straight -ish channel. But it just goes

:50:08. > :50:09.straight into the second row now. That is one of the strangest you

:50:10. > :50:18.will ever see. It's what you can get away with.

:50:19. > :50:27.It's knowing the referee. If you can get away with that... Taking down by

:50:28. > :50:33.France. An opportunity to come forward again. The French national

:50:34. > :50:40.anthem is ringing out in the Stade de France. Penalty vote Scotland.

:50:41. > :50:40.Quickly taken by Alistair Price. The replacement scrum-half takes

:50:41. > :51:03.Scotland to the ten metre line. Comes off the legs. A little knock

:51:04. > :51:10.forward for Scotland. The referee says it's OK. Dunbar carries it.

:51:11. > :51:18.Russell under pressure. Flips it well to Tommy Seymour, red touch for

:51:19. > :51:25.him. Chasing it down. Seymour on his own, looks full support. And its

:51:26. > :51:32.Swinson! Tim Swinson, fresh on the field, and takes Scotland into an

:51:33. > :51:37.unlikely lead! Again, the bounce of a rugby ball can do strange things

:51:38. > :51:44.to a full-back. Spedding undone by it. The quick hands gives you more

:51:45. > :51:47.the opportunity. It is this pass from Finn Russell, the footwork, he

:51:48. > :51:55.slid the ball away to Seymour, whose was pretty high. Tim Swinson coming

:51:56. > :51:59.on, usually a second row, but he has got the support right down to 80,

:52:00. > :52:06.right up the middle of the field, staying in the game. First try for

:52:07. > :52:08.Scotland, Tim Swinson. He has been the man for Scotland, for Glasgow.

:52:09. > :52:19.Oh, my word! Looking at the replay of the try,

:52:20. > :52:26.rather than looking at the replay of the conversion, look at the bounce

:52:27. > :52:31.on this fob or old Scott Spedding. -- for poor old Scott Spedding. He

:52:32. > :52:36.was rushed, he got told to speed up and the ball flops over right at the

:52:37. > :52:46.last minute. It's crawling along the ground like a caterpillar, no good!

:52:47. > :52:49.Slimani is an, Atonio is off. Gordon Reid is going to come on for

:52:50. > :52:55.Scotland is well on the front row. It comes down to fine margins. That

:52:56. > :52:59.kick will be watched time and time again. Time running out. 90 seconds

:53:00. > :53:03.to take a conversion. From the try being scored you have 90 seconds to

:53:04. > :53:08.take the conversion. He must have got a call from the referee to hurry

:53:09. > :53:14.up, and an heeded. You have got a couple of seconds to compose

:53:15. > :53:17.yourself before having a kick. Spilling forward, France have it

:53:18. > :53:23.through their captain. Guirado looking...

:53:24. > :53:31.Gourdon barges through. France within five metres. They come all,

:53:32. > :53:39.Russell digs away at him. Slimani, try scorer at African last week. And

:53:40. > :53:46.-- at Twickenham. The swell of sound inside the Stade de France. Baille,

:53:47. > :53:52.the loosehead prop, sets it back. A little much forward from Nakaitaci.

:53:53. > :54:00.Like a tower runs for the advantage. Penalty coming their way. --

:54:01. > :54:10.Vakatawa. A penalty now. Stuart Hogg got away with murder

:54:11. > :54:14.there. That was a hell of a tricky play. He made the tackle, got

:54:15. > :54:19.back-up, and came back on the line of the tackle. So they took out the

:54:20. > :54:24.supporting player. It was brilliant. It is all from the kick off again.

:54:25. > :54:28.Both teams have tried to win it back. As you said, the first half,

:54:29. > :54:33.as soon as the French get a sniff they come alive. The atmosphere

:54:34. > :54:38.comes alive. Scotland will be quite content, content to concede only

:54:39. > :54:42.three here after this light break from Gourdon. He did this last week.

:54:43. > :54:47.Powerful, blasting through the space. What Stuart Hogg, this is

:54:48. > :54:52.brilliant. He gets the tackle, gets back up on his feet. We missed it!

:54:53. > :54:59.Anyway. Mike even stopping Vakatawa in that corner took a lot of effort

:55:00. > :55:06.from the Scottish backs. So much rugby being played in this game, is

:55:07. > :55:09.a joy to watch. Camille Lopez. After that bizarre conversion miss by Finn

:55:10. > :55:15.Russell he has an opportunity to bring France level.

:55:16. > :55:31.No such mishaps by Camille Lopez. 16 points of these. -- apiece.

:55:32. > :55:42.Finn Russell looking to get going again. But the referee says to stay

:55:43. > :55:46.steady for a moment. Given that a bit too much perhaps. Straightout.

:55:47. > :55:53.Bacca Tower, a mistake at the restart. And all the way back. They

:55:54. > :56:03.talk and talk about them, but the restarts in this game have been

:56:04. > :56:09.telling. A frustrating mistake from Finn Russell. Not a lot in it, but

:56:10. > :56:13.it carried too far. It's no surprise they have opted for the scrum, it

:56:14. > :56:18.opens up both sides of the attack. Is solid base as well. Goujon is

:56:19. > :56:23.waiting to come back on after his assessment. So he is deemed to be of

:56:24. > :56:33.sound mind. A reminder that Scotland have lost

:56:34. > :56:40.Greig Laidlaw to an ankle injury, John Barclay with a head injury

:56:41. > :56:44.assessment. He didn't return after half-time. John Hardie was certainly

:56:45. > :56:49.worse for wear, he came off. Scotland digging into the reserves

:56:50. > :56:59.early on. So much to play for in this match towards 50 minutes.

:57:00. > :57:11.And France but the drive on, penalty coming, held that the back. It's

:57:12. > :57:16.within kicking distance. But with bad level of superiority at the

:57:17. > :57:21.scrum, it's just such a platform to build upon. It is a warning sign,

:57:22. > :57:25.especially when they are playing such attacking rugby, you get the

:57:26. > :57:30.lock on. There it goes to the scrum. It gives France the ability to

:57:31. > :57:35.settle, gain a penalty like this. And start again. Just a reminder

:57:36. > :57:44.that Scotland have first choice props in Allan Dell and Dickinson,

:57:45. > :57:51.Dickinson should be back sooner. It is hard work today. Even there, so

:57:52. > :57:54.much dominance in the scrum. As a rugby enthusiasts, you see the ball

:57:55. > :58:00.being played. They are so dominant, yet they haven't had a goal. They

:58:01. > :58:06.always come back for the penalty. Lining up from 50.

:58:07. > :58:17.A penalty reminder from Jaco Peyper. Distance is not necessary for Scott

:58:18. > :58:23.Spedding, he can kick them out from 60 easily. Not necessarily in the

:58:24. > :58:27.right direction, however. But a good nudge.

:58:28. > :58:36.He was interrupted, from Jaco Peyper as well.

:58:37. > :58:48.Scotland flinging it about ahead of this 22 restart. Half an hour to go.

:58:49. > :58:56.All tied up. Have we got to the bottom of Finn Russell's hairdo? His

:58:57. > :59:04.headband? He took a knock against Zander Fagerson, and since then he

:59:05. > :59:13.has worn it. It looks like he has got his GPS on the front of it, to!

:59:14. > :59:22.Sebastien Vahaamahina, a little bit of space for Spedding.

:59:23. > :59:34.Fine for somebody to claim, says the referee. Baille through Nakaitaci.

:59:35. > :59:48.The roar from the crowd as they get into the 22, Dunbar tries to get

:59:49. > :59:55.over that ball. Oh, and they spill. It was Goujon crying for it.

:59:56. > :00:02.Hogg can't work miracles there. Richie Gray. Trying to pile his way

:00:03. > :00:07.through the diminutive Camille Lopez.

:00:08. > :00:18.And spreading weights. To launch another attack. So strong at

:00:19. > :00:21.Twickenham, Spedding. And Strauss is still going. Some tired looking

:00:22. > :00:27.bodies for Scotland at the moment. As Maestri took it in.

:00:28. > :00:40.A lovely off-load as well. Gourdon doing his bit again. This time he

:00:41. > :00:47.hangs onto it. Swinson was there to take the pass. Swinson has played

:00:48. > :01:00.his part since he came on. Twice. Price was on the way. Down the

:01:01. > :01:06.blindside. Chipping and chasing. He has got Maitland onside. The ball

:01:07. > :01:14.comes back. On through Strauss and Jones. A chip through. Is it too

:01:15. > :01:20.long? Heading towards the corner. And all the way out it goes and back

:01:21. > :01:31.they come. Just the wrong weight on it. And Spedding and many others

:01:32. > :01:35.taking a rest. A great counterattack by Spedding. Hamish Watson is

:01:36. > :01:40.putting a lot of pressure on in the contact. I think we all need a rest

:01:41. > :01:44.after that. You heard on the referee microphone calling for the chip from

:01:45. > :01:48.Stuart Hogg. Really good communication. I think Jones should

:01:49. > :01:53.keep this in hand. I know it is after a long period of play. But you

:01:54. > :01:59.have got France on the black -- a back foot and they are doing really

:02:00. > :02:07.hard. Ross Ford is waiting to come on. France are about to make a

:02:08. > :02:19.change with Huget just going through his stretching. He will come on for

:02:20. > :02:28.Vakatawa. Interesting change. He is obviously a very powerful player,

:02:29. > :02:33.Huget. Scott Spedding was stretching. Looked a little bit

:02:34. > :02:40.vulnerable after the last contact. He gives way for Huget. He will make

:02:41. > :02:48.an impact. Very dangerous with the ball. Very power. A scrum again.

:02:49. > :03:02.Some trepidation by Scotland. There he goes. Crouch, bind, set. France

:03:03. > :03:05.will look for the drive again. Just looking for the penalty here.

:03:06. > :03:09.Scotland will be splintered a bit. This time it is Picamoles, with

:03:10. > :03:21.those big arms, handing off. Ten yards made. Lopez gets in the way

:03:22. > :03:25.well. WHISTLE Penalty for Scotland. Applause again for a defensive

:03:26. > :03:30.effort. Just a little bit wasteful but good work again at the breakdown

:03:31. > :03:33.by Scotland. Every time Picamoles is carrying he is making metres but

:03:34. > :03:40.he's almost running away from the support. And Scotland are coming

:03:41. > :03:43.back in the maul and ruck situation, giving them a few more

:03:44. > :03:48.opportunities. I think they are going to have a go at goal with the

:03:49. > :03:57.big boot of Stuart Hogg. He has got the distance on this one. Fully 54

:03:58. > :04:01.metres or so, however. This should be an issue. After conceding yardage

:04:02. > :04:04.from the line break from Picamoles and one two others they are coming

:04:05. > :04:10.out really hard in defence and forcing the attacker towards the

:04:11. > :04:14.contact, supporting where players have come from and trying to put the

:04:15. > :04:19.pressure on and winning penalties at the breakdown. Alex Dunbar is

:04:20. > :04:29.playing like a fourth flanker. He is putting so much heat on that maul --

:04:30. > :04:36.ruck it is incredible. Hogg. The atmosphere is fairly still at the

:04:37. > :04:41.Stade de France. Not much breeze. And in trying to get a bit of a next

:04:42. > :04:52.to nudge he also does what Scott Spedding did. And a wild one. And

:04:53. > :05:05.France are ready to bring on Maxime Machenaud. Baptiste Serin will head

:05:06. > :05:09.off. He is much more combative, Maxime Machenaud. He will get in

:05:10. > :05:13.among the breakdown. I like Baptiste Serin as a player. Very fluent, very

:05:14. > :05:18.good player, but Maxime Machenaud is far more aggressive in the

:05:19. > :05:26.breakdown. A long 22. Russell taking it above his head. Strauss. Strauss

:05:27. > :05:37.into Picamoles. And Slimani. He does well. Russell again. A spillage and

:05:38. > :05:40.a chance for France to come again. Maitland getting back their decides

:05:41. > :05:46.he should do the job. Scotland under pressure now. A setback for Ali

:05:47. > :05:57.Price. A penalty. Then gave away the penalty. And Ali Price, pretty quick

:05:58. > :06:04.to take the running penalty sometimes. A calm ahead, a more

:06:05. > :06:09.experienced head... Working hard to get back and then the ball pops in.

:06:10. > :06:15.It is not in the ruck so he cannot use his hands. Into Fraser Brown and

:06:16. > :06:18.the turnover. Maxime Machenaud tipped it up and his first impact

:06:19. > :06:28.was to keep long. I think it was Alex Dunbar. I was talking about the

:06:29. > :06:31.work, Alex Dunbar, he has been down a few times. He has often been that

:06:32. > :06:44.extra plank. He is a physical player. Both in defence and

:06:45. > :06:52.offensively. Then it will come on. He is just getting his tracksuit. --

:06:53. > :06:59.Mark Bennett. The game opens up, it may suit him. I think Vern Cotter,

:07:00. > :07:04.we will see it half-time, he was really speeding this game up,

:07:05. > :07:07.challenging the French fitness wise and challenging their vision. Are

:07:08. > :07:13.they seeing what we are seeing? They are waiting for Mark Bennett to come

:07:14. > :07:20.on. Here he is, for Alex Dunbar. Three knocks for Scotland with

:07:21. > :07:23.Berkeley, Hardy and now Alex Dunbar. As Chris was saying, Mark Bennett is

:07:24. > :07:31.a very different player. A very talented attacking player, slighter

:07:32. > :07:40.than Dunbar. Strauss. Does very well. And Russell holds it out. He

:07:41. > :07:44.had to leap to take it and try and get something from not much. Johnny

:07:45. > :08:05.Gray. And on through Richie Gray. Russell seeing what is available.

:08:06. > :08:18.Just carries it in, setting it back again. Fraser Brown. Vahaamahina.

:08:19. > :08:26.Strauss once more the ball carrier and that is a heavy hit by Slimani

:08:27. > :08:36.and Goujon. Mark Bennett. And every time the crowd is groaning and

:08:37. > :08:40.loving Beckett -- the hit. Battering away at the half lane -- halfway

:08:41. > :08:49.line. A flat pass taken in by Mark Bennett. The blues is the cry.

:08:50. > :08:55.Fagerson and Russell. Strauss. Did well taking that path. Spinning to

:08:56. > :09:05.Lopez. It is stolen. And France have got a chance to counter. And an

:09:06. > :09:09.ugly, ugly pass coming out for Picamoles. It was forward and

:09:10. > :09:15.Picamoles with the mistake. We do not say that very often but the

:09:16. > :09:18.Scottish scrum... Strauss is taking aim to himself as well. He is having

:09:19. > :09:25.to do so much of carrying full Scotland. Every contact is maximum.

:09:26. > :09:32.A hard tackle by Lopez. This is the one I think which resulted in the

:09:33. > :09:37.turnover by France. Guirado patching the ball and bat is a poor pass. It

:09:38. > :09:47.is a little full Scotland because he was outside for Gael Fickou and

:09:48. > :09:53.Huget. The game is so physical. Simon Berghan is going to come on

:09:54. > :10:00.for Scotland. Scottish back row reserves are expired. What is

:10:01. > :10:03.important now, because it is so attritional and exhausting, you have

:10:04. > :10:07.to play in the right areas of the field, so territory becomes more

:10:08. > :10:11.important. Maybe at the start of the game when there was more

:10:12. > :10:13.free-flowing rugby, you have got to apply pressure, territory and look

:10:14. > :10:18.for the penalty, look for the drop goal to get your sob ahead. Which I

:10:19. > :10:23.do not think unfortunately papers Scotland. A loose game is profiting

:10:24. > :10:32.Scotland a lots more. The lock is coming on. And another change in the

:10:33. > :10:43.front row for France as well, Xavier Chiocci. He is such a strong loser.

:10:44. > :10:46.He is a big man. I have had the pleasure of being behind him on

:10:47. > :10:55.quite a few occasions in some dark and ugly places. And Christopher

:10:56. > :10:59.Tolofua is going to come on. He is a big man himself, making his debut. A

:11:00. > :11:05.New Zealander with a family from sterling. And straight down with the

:11:06. > :11:12.tight head. For the first time in international rugby. Crouch, bind,

:11:13. > :11:19.said. And the decision is a free kick. Strauss. Strauss is just

:11:20. > :11:31.giving his body to the cause, literally. A bit of damage there.

:11:32. > :11:40.Goujon with the stop. Goujon again. I think it is Picamoles. Collision.

:11:41. > :11:48.No, it wasn't. It is a yellow bird. It is Goujon. Goujon has taken a bit

:11:49. > :11:51.of punishment today, as well. Another shoulder drive in there but

:11:52. > :11:58.you have got to get your head out of there. It on the side. You should

:11:59. > :12:02.drive back. But he goes to his dominant left. Always takes a risk

:12:03. > :12:06.when you put your head in front of your knees all your hips. Moving

:12:07. > :12:10.very slowly towards the final quarter of the match because we have

:12:11. > :12:17.had so many breakdowns now for injuries, for impact. It is a brutal

:12:18. > :12:25.game. And France are ready to make two more changes now. Damien Chouly

:12:26. > :12:36.is going to come back on and Christopher Tolofua is going to come

:12:37. > :12:43.on. Let's go. Avenue to play. Referee is saying you have to play.

:12:44. > :12:49.-- you have to play. I have had enough! Let's call it a draw. 20

:12:50. > :12:56.minutes away from the first to draw since 1987 in the World Cup between

:12:57. > :13:02.these two side. 27 points apiece. A classic 3-3 draw was the last in the

:13:03. > :13:12.capital macro-5 Nations in 1996. 20 minutes. 16 points apiece. I am not

:13:13. > :13:19.sure this scrum is going to last too long. The referee says play on.

:13:20. > :13:24.Strauss just try to get through full stop he has done so well. Past

:13:25. > :13:31.Gourdon and Scotland still moving forward. Price. Offside. Penalty for

:13:32. > :13:38.Scotland and an opportunity here again from just inside the French

:13:39. > :13:44.half. Might well have another go at it. It is going to be a pop to the

:13:45. > :13:50.corner this time. A better scrum, it has gone much lower. The height is

:13:51. > :13:54.so much lower. Gave him enough control in the last two scrums,

:13:55. > :13:58.coming from the back and doing really well to make yardage. Every

:13:59. > :14:03.time he gets up it looks like it is his last play but it is almost like

:14:04. > :14:08.there is something in him and he is giving it everything and it is

:14:09. > :14:11.amazing. In the back row already, he played back row before he swapped

:14:12. > :14:17.the hooker, so I assume he would be the natural replacement if Josh had

:14:18. > :14:20.to go. The positive for Scotland, Dunbar is coming back on so he has

:14:21. > :14:26.passed the head injury assessment. Mark Bennett is off. Maybe appearing

:14:27. > :14:32.again later. Josh Strauss has gone beyond the call of duty today for

:14:33. > :14:39.Scotland. The Linux taken down by Swenson. Try scorer in the Stade de

:14:40. > :14:50.France. -- line-out. -- Swenson. A pass to the finish. And France will

:14:51. > :14:58.get there. Leave it. Once again tempers are expiring. This time it

:14:59. > :15:05.is Johnny Gray and Damien Chouly. Johnny Gray back for a bit more,

:15:06. > :15:07.alongside his brother. It would be an interesting dinner table

:15:08. > :15:27.conversation. Where were you, mate? I was on my own! It is French ball

:15:28. > :15:31.at the scrum. I would expect to see Picamoles launching from the back

:15:32. > :15:39.again at this scrum. Lining up inside. Lopez as well. The crowd

:15:40. > :15:46.that area. Penalty to France. Immediately taken by the front row.

:15:47. > :15:52.For Scotland. And it will be a much easier territory for France now.

:15:53. > :15:58.Will try and poke it all the way down the field. Those scrums are

:15:59. > :16:01.getting messy. Just trying to say, look, let's not get away with

:16:02. > :16:08.anything, just resetting the game and a slowing it up. I would say it

:16:09. > :16:13.sort of terms the Scottish to favourites at the moment with the

:16:14. > :16:17.scrums. They were much lower, not looking for a big shop but actually

:16:18. > :16:24.stability and it was better. Line-out taken safely. He was

:16:25. > :16:32.therefore France. Held at the back by the captain, Guirado. The

:16:33. > :16:35.Scottish defences are splintering. And through the debris comes France

:16:36. > :16:41.once more into the 22, rolling along. What grounds they have made.

:16:42. > :16:52.Advantage to France as well. The penalty is there for them. Points

:16:53. > :17:01.are on offer. Picamoles. And France still come. They know that penalty

:17:02. > :17:12.is there. Machenaud feeds in. Wide it goes now. They come for the

:17:13. > :17:17.penalty. 17 and three? And an opportunity for France again to take

:17:18. > :17:25.the lead. One after the other from that driving maul. It has moved a

:17:26. > :17:32.fair rate for the French. I assume they will try and kick for the gold.

:17:33. > :17:39.But after that last line-out, will they go to touch? You would admit

:17:40. > :17:43.quite happily that he would accept the three points, because of the way

:17:44. > :17:49.the matches going and the momentum France have, and that is what France

:17:50. > :17:52.is doing for the corner, they are going for the jugular, with 15

:17:53. > :17:58.minutes to go and the Stade de France is applauding it. It is

:17:59. > :18:03.mixed. I think that is a crazy move, to be honest. I think points are

:18:04. > :18:10.valuable at a time like this. The crowd are getting. And a wave again.

:18:11. > :18:15.They would love to see France over that Scottish try line. Along it

:18:16. > :18:20.goes. They try to take it down. They pile up. They missed the ball. Four

:18:21. > :18:25.or five average players. Picamoles. In the heart of it. Right at the

:18:26. > :18:29.centre of the old now. The ball is therefore France. Within five

:18:30. > :18:37.metres. Can the Scottish defence stand firm? Picamoles. Takes it back

:18:38. > :18:43.now. Maxime Machenaud giving it on. Carried forward by the replacement

:18:44. > :18:51.prop forward. Advantage for France as well. Another penalty is coming

:18:52. > :19:00.and Lopez, so close. Through to the base of the post. Cannot quite get

:19:01. > :19:03.there. France forward and then back into the heart of things, carried in

:19:04. > :19:11.by Johann Boucher. Penalty advantage. Well, they want the try.

:19:12. > :19:17.It may still come. But they will have to try again. Maybe the scrum

:19:18. > :19:24.this time. Another Scottish man is down injured. Just so much

:19:25. > :19:28.courageous defence from Scotland. The French just keep coming at you,

:19:29. > :19:36.wave after wave, power, every ball-carrier. Brown is down injured,

:19:37. > :19:41.as well. He has been so brave in the tackle and in contacts today. You

:19:42. > :19:45.saw how hard France had to work for that try with Gael Fickou, I think

:19:46. > :19:50.it was 20 phases. So much courage in defence and attack. Picamoles, like

:19:51. > :19:56.you did last week, carrying hard. Inches in the ground. Keep trying to

:19:57. > :20:00.make another inch. Inside defence covers, I think that is Fraser Brown

:20:01. > :20:03.in the collision, taking a knock. Another interesting decision for the

:20:04. > :20:09.French. A penalty underneath the posts. A dominant scrum. Almost

:20:10. > :20:15.guaranteed three points. Fraser Brown looks to be leaving the field

:20:16. > :20:23.as well. Watson comes on. Ford earning his 104th appearance. And

:20:24. > :20:26.France are waving inside the Stade de France. But this will be a scrum

:20:27. > :20:35.right under the posts. Scotland would have been quite happy

:20:36. > :20:44.to concede just three points there. But an opportunity. France will be

:20:45. > :20:56.targeting the shop impossible penalty, penalty try. Picamoles. --

:20:57. > :21:08.a key note in this match. In it goes. From Machenaud. Not yielding.

:21:09. > :21:13.Using it, says the referee. He spills it! He has spilled it and

:21:14. > :21:23.they have tried to clear! We will check. Machenaud flung himself upon

:21:24. > :21:30.it. Plenty to look at. John Lacey coming in. There was a spilled from

:21:31. > :21:41.Lamerat and then a kick charged down. The spillage. He is reaching

:21:42. > :21:51.for the line-out. No, that is a try because of the line. Control? The

:21:52. > :22:00.TMO, it is his decision. You can see him watching it. I would give that.

:22:01. > :22:03.I think it is a try, as well. There has to be minimal contact between

:22:04. > :22:10.the ball, hand and the ground. He has got contact. His pinky finger

:22:11. > :22:17.has gone through. And the decision is... Got a decision for you. He has

:22:18. > :22:25.lost control, the ball has gone forward... I think that is harsh.

:22:26. > :22:33.Scrum to the defence. That is a huge decision. That has amazed me, to be

:22:34. > :22:37.honest. The word was control, wasn't it? Lost control in possession. It

:22:38. > :22:41.looks to me like he just managed to get that down. It does not get

:22:42. > :22:49.Scotland out of the woods. They have to take the scrum. I imagine huge

:22:50. > :22:53.pressure coming from the French. Loads of people watching that will

:22:54. > :22:54.not be able to believe it. Scotland still under huge pressure on their

:22:55. > :23:12.own scrum. Holding that ball. Ali Price. The

:23:13. > :23:22.referee says, get it in now. And the crowd are baying for Scottish blood.

:23:23. > :23:30.Ali Price showing a lot of maturity there. That was a good skill to hold

:23:31. > :23:37.off. He could see his team had not got that dominance, that stable

:23:38. > :23:40.platform. I assume if you are Scotland you just once this ball in

:23:41. > :23:44.hand to clear your lines. Finn Russell is quite fast. I wonder if

:23:45. > :23:50.Strauss is going to try and get a view more metres out and get a

:23:51. > :23:58.better base to clear from. -- a few more. Stable at. France pile

:23:59. > :24:05.through. Penalty. They are moving it around, France. How they have

:24:06. > :24:11.emerged from that with a penalty to clear without conceding any points,

:24:12. > :24:19.astonishing. Not driving straight. Across. The angle, he went out and

:24:20. > :24:22.he came back in. It is one of those things where you really want to try

:24:23. > :24:29.and do a dominant piece of play down there and you give yourself a

:24:30. > :24:34.penalty... That is a good kick as well from Finn Russell. Almost to

:24:35. > :24:41.halfway. He has come round on his left. He is not pushing straight.

:24:42. > :24:47.That is a penalty all day. A very powerful scrummage player but legal

:24:48. > :24:52.on that occasion. Heading to the final ten minutes. The Scottish line

:24:53. > :24:59.at just inside their own half. Scotland looking for a first win in

:25:00. > :25:04.France since 1999. That is certainly not straight, is it? The referee has

:25:05. > :25:11.a look and he says it is fine. Hamish Watson. What an effort he has

:25:12. > :25:19.put him. Gordon Reid plays scrum-half. Johnny Gray setting it

:25:20. > :25:24.back. A long final ten minutes coming up. Russell off-loading.

:25:25. > :25:31.Dunbar is there. Trying to help out but again avoiding the red and blue.

:25:32. > :25:36.They come in. Hugh Jones taken down by Slimani. A penalty now to France.

:25:37. > :25:41.Holding onto the ball. And it is certainly gettable. Maxime

:25:42. > :25:45.Machenaud, isn't it? He does that so often for his club. He is so

:25:46. > :25:50.combative at the breakdown. Penalty for his side. I do not think there

:25:51. > :25:54.is any doubt about the decision here. They are going to try and take

:25:55. > :26:01.the three points. Jones picks and goes for the tackle. Strong as an

:26:02. > :26:09.ox. Wide base, over the ball. Two or three Scottish clear and cannot get

:26:10. > :26:14.him. And around the neck, you cannot clear out as easily as you used to.

:26:15. > :26:19.Just limping over it. Setting it up here for Lopez. He could not score

:26:20. > :26:25.moments ago from the attack but France have an opportunity now. You

:26:26. > :26:29.cannot help but think about the conversion. Well, exactly. Finn

:26:30. > :26:45.Russell. That may be looked at later on. But Lopez now... It is good from

:26:46. > :26:50.Lopez. Silence turning to roars of approval from the Stade de France.

:26:51. > :26:57.France in front. Just over eight minutes remaining. They craved this

:26:58. > :27:02.victory. They need it. They came close against England, Australia,

:27:03. > :27:07.England away. They simply had to beat Scotland at home, according to

:27:08. > :27:19.French supporters. And finally... Christopher Tolofua on for the

:27:20. > :27:25.restart. And now Lopez. Hogg is there. He had to take an awkward one

:27:26. > :27:34.bouncing in front of him. Gourdon gets him down. Forward. Off-loading.

:27:35. > :27:38.Still flinging it around and Russell is almost through and still going.

:27:39. > :27:48.He is looking for the upload but it is risky and it is France with the

:27:49. > :27:53.ball. Staying on. It is a French ball. You can see how dangerous

:27:54. > :27:59.Scotland still are if they get their hands on the ball. It gets them out

:28:00. > :28:03.of that. The pressure they have been under. It gives them the opportunity

:28:04. > :28:09.to launch an from Russell. He tries to get his hands free to get the

:28:10. > :28:14.ball away. He should hold onto that. Hold it and try and apply pressure

:28:15. > :28:23.to the French. You must say, another cracking game in the six Nations. A

:28:24. > :28:34.lot of drama left in it yet in the final six or seven minutes. -- Six

:28:35. > :28:38.Nations. The Scottish players that have not been replaced, the grey

:28:39. > :28:44.brothers, Strauss, I mentioned, Hamish Watson on the plank. So many

:28:45. > :29:08.injuries with Laidlaw, Dunbar and Hardy. -- on the bench. WHISTLE This

:29:09. > :29:16.will be stuck to the corner. Again, there is only so far you can go with

:29:17. > :29:19.a competitive scrum. It is unusual because the Scottish Crown -- scrum

:29:20. > :29:24.is a sort of shared and the French are going directly through them. Was

:29:25. > :29:29.there much difference between that one and the one where the Scottish

:29:30. > :29:34.won the penalty on their own line? Yes, but the French stayed straight

:29:35. > :29:36.on this one. They try to do what the French did last time and this is

:29:37. > :29:48.what is creating indecision, as well. A replacement at fly half.

:29:49. > :29:52.Duncan Weir is on for Finn Russell. Finn Russell might have expected to

:29:53. > :29:57.play the final five minutes but Duncan Weir comes on. Looking to dig

:29:58. > :30:06.them out of this position, three points adrift and France with the

:30:07. > :30:15.ball and playing to the line. Here comes the driving maul for France.

:30:16. > :30:16.And down to ground it goes. And advantage to France. Penalty. Hope

:30:17. > :30:38.is running out now for Scotland. Louis Picamoles, starts at number

:30:39. > :30:44.ten to have another kick at goal. Just a reminder as well, the bonus

:30:45. > :30:49.points in Six Nations this year, is losing bonus point is a defeat by

:30:50. > :30:53.seven points or fewer. Scotland are within that at the moment, and still

:30:54. > :30:56.would be if France were to knock this Cachova. Strange to be talking

:30:57. > :31:02.about losing bonus point as something. You think about how close

:31:03. > :31:05.it is at the end of the championship, the difference between

:31:06. > :31:10.the teams in the table, you want to come away with something. You can

:31:11. > :31:14.see, that last image shows how difficult it is to be a referee.

:31:15. > :31:18.There's so much going on, players are part and players low. You need

:31:19. > :31:20.to know where the ball is in and around them, so difficult. Another

:31:21. > :31:40.opportunity for Camille Lopez. Yes, he is clinching his fist and

:31:41. > :31:44.celebrating. France now have a 6-point lead. Scotland looking for

:31:45. > :31:47.miracles in the final four minutes. Barely threatened the French try

:31:48. > :31:54.line for so long, but they need a converted try. Some moments from the

:31:55. > :31:58.second half, the impetus put in by both sides. Earlier in the match as

:31:59. > :32:04.well, so Greig Laidlaw. He has long since departed. The restart crucial

:32:05. > :32:08.again. Taken well by Julien Le Devedec.

:32:09. > :32:19.Scotland needed to claim that. Brought to a brief standstill by

:32:20. > :32:27.Ford, and on once more. And from deep, Lopez swivels. Takes it to

:32:28. > :32:39.Duncan Weir. Infield to Maitland. The Ulster. -- little step. Alistair

:32:40. > :32:44.Price doing well. The young scrum-half sets it back. Jones comes

:32:45. > :32:47.into play at scrum-half. Scotland in desperation on the attack. Jonny

:32:48. > :33:00.Gray, back from cordon. -- Gourdon. Scotland making ground. They need

:33:01. > :33:07.more than a penalty, more than a drop goal. Hamish Watson. Scotland

:33:08. > :33:16.looking for something magical here now. Still going. Le Devedec gets to

:33:17. > :33:23.him. Just over two minutes remaining. For all this effort. And

:33:24. > :33:27.the Gray runners linkup. Duncan Weir. And Gordon Reid. Round it

:33:28. > :33:31.goes. Nakaitaci has it for France. Chasing

:33:32. > :33:45.it down himself. Bit of open space for Stuart Hogg.

:33:46. > :33:56.Slips, remains on his feet and still going on. And again breaking up. A

:33:57. > :34:04.final chance for Scotland. Machenaud slows things down. Takes his time.

:34:05. > :34:23.On comes Christopher Tolofua. Towards the final minute. Scotland

:34:24. > :34:28.still within seven points. But they still dream of a win in Paris for

:34:29. > :34:32.the first time since 1999. They need that ball. And the scrum strikes up

:34:33. > :34:42.again in the Stade de France. France, so close to the win to

:34:43. > :34:56.revive their title challenge. Ball is available, available to be

:34:57. > :35:02.cleared. France taking things down now, Tolofua.

:35:03. > :35:12.No mistakes from France. Little pockets of three weight and carry.

:35:13. > :35:19.Gray tries to script Gourdon. Still with France, seconds remaining. And

:35:20. > :35:24.again, the forwards weight. And carry, and soak up the clock. And

:35:25. > :35:31.the countdown is on until the clock goes red. Back it goes. And goes the

:35:32. > :35:36.ball. And victory for France! Celebration in the Stade de France.

:35:37. > :35:43.Well, it shows that it means so much to France to have that win. But it

:35:44. > :35:49.is a French win. And they simply had to get that to relieve the pressure

:35:50. > :35:53.to satisfy their followers. And for Scotland, it's not quite nothing,

:35:54. > :35:57.there is a losing bonus point, but they wanted, expected and hoped for

:35:58. > :36:01.so much more. They gave so much effort. A huge amount of effort,

:36:02. > :36:05.courageous and brave. They really managed that final minute and a

:36:06. > :36:10.half, they wanted to retreat into their own 22 so they could kick them

:36:11. > :36:14.out. It is a win from France as a hugely bruising encounter in Paris.

:36:15. > :36:25.A fantastic match, both teams played with an attacking mindset, they

:36:26. > :36:28.don't want to win. I think the Scots can be extremely happy with that.

:36:29. > :36:30.Playing at home for France is huge. Emotionally it is huge. To be

:36:31. > :36:33.honest, not a bad result. In. You want to win, but not a bad result.

:36:34. > :36:36.France really stepped up, they're off-load start and they really

:36:37. > :36:43.attacked. It has taken its toll on these men. Some are having treatment

:36:44. > :36:51.elsewhere. Laidlaw is off, Barclay and Hardie. Two tries for Scotland,

:36:52. > :36:55.but victory from France. 22-16. STUDIO: At times it was a compelling

:36:56. > :37:00.Test match. And really there were moments when France should have been

:37:01. > :37:03.two scores up, and Scotland's defence, magnificent to keep the

:37:04. > :37:06.score down to give themselves in the game. But France really, you can

:37:07. > :37:11.give their massive credit over the past 12 months, where they have come

:37:12. > :37:20.from and how well they have played. That is their only third win in ten

:37:21. > :37:24.Test. A very physical performance. They deserved it. They just deserved

:37:25. > :37:28.it. They showed a lot of courage and bravery. They had a lot of injuries

:37:29. > :37:32.to deal with. A lot of these guys came through very well. Ali Price

:37:33. > :37:36.showed the quality international player he is going to be. Lots of

:37:37. > :37:42.guts and effort. Fraser Brown, Hamish Watson and Richie Gray. They

:37:43. > :37:46.pitted a big shift. It was just so physical. I think that just told it,

:37:47. > :37:51.France were able to control the second half a bit more, and just

:37:52. > :37:54.have those big moments. Scotland never looked like scoring a try, and

:37:55. > :37:59.when they did, they got a good bounce of the ball. They bossed it

:38:00. > :38:02.quite well, France. We talked at half-time about the game may be

:38:03. > :38:06.cutting loose, that helped Scotland, but it didn't work out. It was

:38:07. > :38:09.almost smacked different halves of rugby. The French pack really

:38:10. > :38:14.dominated the second half. It was hard for Scotland to get themselves

:38:15. > :38:17.together. It is so hard to win games in modern rugby. You can see the

:38:18. > :38:23.French bench and especially the forwards made the difference. As I

:38:24. > :38:26.said, we needed to score very early in the second half, that is what

:38:27. > :38:31.Scotland need. We managed to come back row quickly into the game and

:38:32. > :38:36.put that penalty, you know, it made as comeback 16-16, it was very help.

:38:37. > :38:41.Like at that point, Scotland should have been a little bit further

:38:42. > :38:44.ahead. There was a controversial moment with the conversion. Let's

:38:45. > :38:51.might look at the Lamerat tried, the no cry. All of us here were gassed

:38:52. > :38:55.that this went away -- were aghast. It was in front of the post and

:38:56. > :38:59.decided to go for it. There is a finger on the ball, that's all it

:39:00. > :39:06.is. It's downward pressure. Look at this here. The referee said forward

:39:07. > :39:10.motion of the ball. I think if you look, we try to close up there. I

:39:11. > :39:16.think there is a hand, a finger on that there. I think he would be

:39:17. > :39:20.wanting that tries. He said it lost control, it doesn't matter if you

:39:21. > :39:22.have got control, if you have got downward pressure, it looked like

:39:23. > :39:27.the finger was there. We were aghast when the try wasn't given. I totally

:39:28. > :39:31.agree with that. We will get the reaction from Stuart Hogg, who

:39:32. > :39:36.scored today, the fifth player after so boring in five consecutive Six

:39:37. > :39:39.Nations matches. Stewart, such an entertaining match -- after scoring.

:39:40. > :39:44.A bruising wants everyone to play in. They board of attrition. It was

:39:45. > :39:52.indeed. France have a massive physical pack. We chucked it away in

:39:53. > :39:57.the end, I think. What ultimately did it come down to? Hard errors

:39:58. > :40:01.cost us. We got ourselves in good positions, you can see our patience

:40:02. > :40:06.in attack. We got a try from it but we didn't respect the ball enough.

:40:07. > :40:10.Ultimately it cost us. A try from you on your 50th cap, a great

:40:11. > :40:15.milestone for you regardless of the score? I'm chuffed, a dream to play

:40:16. > :40:21.for Scotland, but at the end of the day it is not the result will of him

:40:22. > :40:25.for. Our next job is Wales in a couple of weeks' time so we have to

:40:26. > :40:31.get ourselves back and go against point. About relations, a

:40:32. > :40:35.hard-fought battle but ultimately France on the right end of it,

:40:36. > :40:39.unlike against England. We made a lot of mistakes on the first half

:40:40. > :40:45.and we can get our game into place. But we desperately needed a win, so

:40:46. > :40:49.we are going to take that. It was a bruising encounter for both sides, a

:40:50. > :40:53.real war of attrition. Where did France have the edge over Scotland?

:40:54. > :40:59.We know it was a big pat? I think it could have gone either way. We were

:41:00. > :41:02.really lucky to sneak it in there. But we threw away a lot of

:41:03. > :41:06.opportunities and made a lot of mistakes. We kept Scotland and the

:41:07. > :41:12.game. We disappointed with our performance. Thanks very much,

:41:13. > :41:16.Scott. France's first win of the Six Nations campaign means they are up

:41:17. > :41:20.and running on five points. They got a bonus point last week. Scotland on

:41:21. > :41:24.five points as well. These bonus points are coming into play, look at

:41:25. > :41:27.how tight it is making the table. That's my go back to the Tim Swinson

:41:28. > :41:31.try, a brilliant way to start the second half. ... The try was

:41:32. > :41:44.interesting, but what happened next? Tommy Seymour gets a nice balance to

:41:45. > :41:50.the ball, but great work rate by Tim Swinson. Watch this could...

:41:51. > :41:54.Scotland are celebrating, you have got 90 seconds to make the

:41:55. > :42:01.conversion. Plenty of time to allow this to happen. The kicking is not

:42:02. > :42:08.on yet. But look at the time, only 20 seconds going. This code at the

:42:09. > :42:14.time have really been a tight, tight game. Imagine if Scotland had lost

:42:15. > :42:18.by a point or two points. Again,... The momentum... Russell is down on

:42:19. > :42:22.the ground as if he is about to take it. Which you never see, he has

:42:23. > :42:27.still got plenty of time. Nathan Hines is coming on, throws the

:42:28. > :42:32.kicking tee. With urgency. We could hear on the ref mic saying, take it,

:42:33. > :42:35.take it, rush it. It was a really strange is coming on, throws the

:42:36. > :42:38.kicking tee. With urgency. We could hear on the rest mic saying, take

:42:39. > :42:44.it, take it, rush it. It was a really strange set of circumstances.

:42:45. > :42:48.It was just a bit weird. It's quite extraordinary coming the anomalies

:42:49. > :42:50.and the things that you see. It didn't matter in the end because the

:42:51. > :42:54.score was not as tight. They will take heart from many aspects of

:42:55. > :42:58.brilliant performance but they will be gutted to have not got that

:42:59. > :43:03.second win in the opening games. Of course they will, they could easily

:43:04. > :43:06.have won the game. We could have been more pragmatic in the last ten

:43:07. > :43:09.minutes. Finn Russell chose to move the ball a couple of times. But

:43:10. > :43:13.that's the great thing about Finn Russell, he is going to have a go

:43:14. > :43:17.and try and win that game. Sometimes it doesn't quite come off but

:43:18. > :43:25.equally we by saying how brilliant it was and he. For France, this is a

:43:26. > :43:29.huge step in the right direction. It is a huge step. We had three losses

:43:30. > :43:33.in the last three games against New Zealand, Australia and England, the

:43:34. > :43:37.best teams in the world. It is important to win. You can't build a

:43:38. > :43:43.team on losses. We really needed to improve. Andy, I will give you the

:43:44. > :43:46.last word but it is going down on the red button because we are going

:43:47. > :43:49.over there right now. Plenty more action at interviews as well.

:43:50. > :43:53.Scotland can get the back-to-back opening win in the Six Nations. They

:43:54. > :43:57.will try again next time. See you on the red button.

:43:58. > :44:08.MUSIC The roar from the Stade de France

:44:09. > :44:17.gets the game going. Stuart Hogg scores the point! Spedding!

:44:18. > :44:43.I've got enemies in Bourton-on-the-Water.