After last weekend’s mauling in Nice, Scotland were back at Murrayfield facing off against France once again in their warm-up towards the World Cup. Last week, France scored their opening try within 2 minutes and it happened again on Saturday as Damian Penaud intercepted Peter Horne to dot down under the posts. Penaud scored again before Sean Maitland crossed just before half time to make the score 10-14. Les Bleus failed to add to their score after the break, while Chris Harris burst over for the winning try and Greig Laidlaw kicked the conversion for a 17-14 final score.
Scotland
Ireland were not the only ones who struggled at the lineout on Saturday. George Turner is a great talent, but he was having a nightmare with his throwing in this match. While part of this can be down to French pressure and unfamiliar combinations in the Scotland squad, there were also some individual mistakes such as the quick throw to Ryan Wilson at the front, where he had placed himself too far over to the French side and threw directly to Wilson, making the skewed throw incredibly obvious.
The lineout is such a vital piece of professional rugby, Scotland will be hoping Fraser Brown returns from injury soon to give more options at hooker. That way, Scotland can rely on the experienced pair of Brown and Stuart McInally in the big games and take Turner as a 3ʳᵈ option to use in the easier pool matches.
France
The oft-said cliché about the France national team is that you never know which team will turn up on the day. While they were far from perfect on Saturday, there was enough on show to suggest that – if they can put such clichés behind them and remain consistent – they have the makings of a great squad to not just compete in Japan, but also work through the next 4 year cycle with a view to RWC2023.
Damian Penaud is one of the form wingers in international rugby at the moment, and at 22 years old will be around for a long time. Other starters on Saturday include, Antoine Dupont (22), Alivereti Raka (24), Thomas Ramos (24), Félix Lambey (25), Arthur Iturria (25), Grégory Alldritt (22), while Gaël Fickou (25) was also meant to start before having to pull out through injury. On the bench, it feels like Camille Chat has been around forever, but he is only 23, and he was joined by fellow youngsters Cyril Baille (25), Emerick Setiano (23), Yacouba Camara (25), Baptiste Serin (25) and Romain Ntamack (20). Straight away, we can see a great young core to base the squad around for the next 4+ years, while there were also plenty of players in the squad who are slightly older but would still only be in their early 30s come the next tournament.
This year’s tournament may be too early for them, but with the right organisation, they could be a great shout for RWC2023.
RWC2019 Winners & Losers
Centre Chris Harris may have to delay his Gloucester debut as he has likely moved himself up the pecking order for Scotland with a good all-round performance that was capped off with a try. Gordon Reid also put in a very strong performance in the scrum and his experience will likely see him make it onto the plane to Japan.
After having much of last season wrote off due to concussion issues, seeing Blade Thomson leave the pitch early with a head injury will have been concerning and I think has left him with too few opportunities to earn a spot on the plane. Likewise, Tommy Seymour will be worried for his place in a deep back 3 after an injury saw him replaced early.
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Eyes on the Ball 