Camille Lopez scored 17 points to help France down Scotland 22-16 in Paris on Sunday. JON CARDINELLI reports.
France coach Guy Noves will breathe a sigh of relief. The hosts battled to breach the determined Scotland defence for much of the second half, and in the end it was left to Lopez to kick two crucial penalties to secure the result.
Scotland were up for the physical battle from minute one. While they maintained their intensity throughout the contest, they will know that their poor discipline gifted France scoring opportunities at key moments.
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Shortly after Stuart Hogg scored the game's opening try, Scotland conceded a penalty at the other end of the field. Lopez's three-pointer allowed France to regain the lead at 6-5.
Captain Greig Laidlaw was forced to leave the field thereafter. One of the first acts by replacement scrumhalf Ali Price was to give Lopez a shove after the whistle. A penalty was reversed, and France were afforded another opportunity to score.
After 18 phases, the Scotland defence relented. Gael Fickou dotted down and Lopez nailed the touchline conversion to extend France's lead to eight points.
Finn Russell kicked two penalty goals before half-time to see Scotland trailing 13-11 at the break. The visitors scored early in the second stanza through Tim Swinson, but Russell missed the conversion attempt from right in front.
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The hosts enjoyed plenty of territory in the fourth quarter, but battled to translate this dominance into points. In the 65th minute they won a penalty, but decided to kick it to touch and set the lineout. They won another penalty thereafter and opted to set a scrum.
Rémi Lamerat reached for the tryline, and television replays suggested the France centre had slammed the ball down on the whitewash. The officials, however, felt differently, ruling that Lamerat had lost control of the ball.
From that moment on, France took fewer chances. When replacement scrumhalf Maxime Machenaud won a penalty at the breakdown, Lopez was asked to shoot for goal. France moved into the lead as a result.
Lopez sank another three-pointer after 75 minutes, and shook his fist in celebration. The hosts managed to control possession in the dying seconds and to secure their first win in the 2017 Six Nations tournament.
France – Try Gaël Fickou. Conversion: Camille Lopez. Penalties: Lopez (5).
Scotland – Tries: Stuart Hogg, Tim Swinson. Penalties: Finn Russell (2).
France – 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Rémi Lamerat, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Kévin Gourdon, 6 Loann Goujon, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Cyril Baille.
Subs: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Xavier Chiocci, 19 Julian Le Devedec, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain, 23 Yoann Huget.
Scotland – 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 John Barclay, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Allan Dell.
Subs: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 John Hardie, 21 Ali Price, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Mark Bennett.
Photo: David Rogers/ Getty Images
