Six Nations Tournament: France triumphs over a valiant Scottish team

Gaël Fickou scored the fourth try for the French team against Scotland at the Stade de France on February 26, 2023. © AFP / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT

Text by: Valentin Berg Follow

3 mins

The French team snatched victory against a catchy Scottish XV (32-21), this Sunday February 26 at the Stade de France at the end of the third day of the 2023 Six Nations Tournament. Thanks to a last minute try from Gaël Fickou, the Blues pocket an improved success and remain alive in the tournament.

They will face England at Twickenham on March 11.

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A match to continue to believe in it.

Two weeks after

, the Blues were set to put their heads together in this Six Nations Tournament as they faced unbeaten Scotland for the 100th time in their history.

The Tricolores were keen to show that they had learned from their mistakes during the previous clash and that they were going to quickly correct their offensive mistakes.

From the first minutes of the match, the Blues put pressure on the Scots in a lively Stade de France.

This demonstration of tricolor power quickly cracked the opposing defense, after a good phase of play concluded by Romain Ntamack (5th) and transformed by Thomas Ramos (7-0).

Overwhelmed, the XV du Chardon was then reduced to 14 players in the 7th minute when Grant Gilchrist was sent off following a shoulder blow in the face from Anthony Jelonch.

Taking advantage of this hard blow on the Scottish side, Ethan Dumortier drove the point home by scoring at the end of the line (8th, 12-0).

The Frenchman Mohammed Haouas was sent back to the locker room shortly after, after a whim on Benjamin White (13th).

But the XV of France did not panic and gave the Scots another try thanks to Thomas Ramos who intercepted an opposing ball on the wing before heading alone towards the posts (19th).

He then took charge of the transformation without shaking (19-0).

The Scots then had their first highlight of the match by occupying the French camp more, but their attempts came up against the good defense of the XV of France.

Huw Jones finally found the fault in the blue wall (26th) and his try was converted by Finn Russell (19-7).

The French could have increased the score even more at the very end of the first period, but Charles Ollivon's try (40th + 1) was canceled by the referee who whistled for half-time a few seconds earlier.

With three tries scored in the first period, the Blues mastered their subject against the Scots who suffered but also showed some response (22-7).

A Scotland with character

Dominated in the score but not beaten down, Scotland made a solid comeback by quickly scoring a second try thanks to Huw Jones (48th), well transformed (22-14).

The Scots then put the Blues in great difficulty by multiplying the attempts in their last meters.

Less serene, the XV of France had more difficulty being sharp and containing his opponent, who hardly let him breathe since the recovery.

Finn Russell then rewarded the resounding reaction of his team by giving his team three tries everywhere (68th) and only four points from the French after conversion (25-21).

Jostled, the French had to keep their slim lead to stay alive in the tournament and confiscated the ball in the last minutes.

The impressive defense of the Scots against the multiple French attacks could have ended the match with this score, but Gaël Fickou delivered his teammates by sneaking into the Scottish defense at the end of regulation time (80th) to register the fourth French try and bring back the offensive bonus to the Blues (32-21).

🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Gaël Fickou delivers the @StadeFrance 😍#FRAECO #XVdeFrance #SixNations #NeFaisonsXV pic.twitter.com/DZaYqhrsbM

– France Rugby (@FranceRugby) February 26, 2023

This success allows the XV of France to revive in the general classification and to come back up to Scotland (2nd with 10 points) and England (3rd with 10 points).

The Scots suffered their first loss of the tournament and saw their Grand Slam dreams shattered.

They will face Ireland, the only team still undefeated and big favorite of this edition, during a clash at home on March 12 which could benefit the French team.

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