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EDINBURGH - France made a positive start to the defence of their Six Nations title with a 27-6 win over Scotland at Murrayfield today.
Man of the match Vincent Clerc scored two tries and fellow winger Julien Malzieu added a third.
Halfback Jean-Baptiste Elissalde converted all three and France also benefited from the goal kicking of centre Damien Traille who landed two penalties.
It was an impressive performance from a new-look France side which dominated the back row battle and moved the ball much more effectively behind the scrum to deliver coach Marc Lievremont victory in his first match in charge.
"The team spirit held out right to the end. I was very pleased with the scoreline but I was not surprised that we managed to control so much of the game," former France flanker Lievremont told reporters
"Overall I was delighted with the performance even there were a few things that didn't click.
"I stressed to my players that it was important not to give away any possession but above all I encouraged them to be confident. I'm aware of the quality in this group and I think we can play all styles of rugby," he added.
Scotland got off to a nervous start when Dan Parks put the ball straight into touch from the kickoff but the Glasgow first five-eighths atoned three minutes later with a drop goal.
However, last year's wooden spoon recipients were quickly put on the back foot as clever work between Cedric Heymans and Clerc gave the French right wing a try.
The visitors went 10-3 ahead thanks to Traille's low penalty kick from the halfway line which just cleared the crossbar.
Scotland had a chance to eat into the French lead but Parks was off target with his penalty attempt. At the other end, Malzieu took a quick tap penalty, kicked ahead and gathered the bouncing ball for a try under the posts.
Elissalde converted but after Parks added a penalty for the Scots, the France halfback was twice off target, leaving his side 17-6 to the good at halftime.
There was no let up from the French at the beginning of the second half. They dominated the early exchanges and Traille added a second penalty.
With the game going their way, France struck again when replacement standoff David Skrela delivered a cut-out pass to Clerc, who chipped ahead before benefiting from another kind bounce to score under the posts.
Scotland tried desperately to salvage some points from a poor performance and came close to scoring when replacement halfback Chris Cusiter crossed the line only to lose the ball in the act of touching down.
"We made the kind of elementary mistakes that bedevilled us in the World Cup. But all credit to France, they played with pace and defended very well," said Scotland coach Frank Hadden.
"But I do think that the bounce of the ball was a big part in all three tries.
"They kept us out of the game at the start of the second half when we had wanted a flying start. I also thought that we didn't go forward enough in defence. But I was not surprised by the performance of this France team and the quality of individual players."
- REUTERS
