Scotland ensured the Six Nations title race will go to the final day of the tournament after a 90-point thriller against France at Murrayfield.
Wingers Darcy Graham and Kyle Steyn scored two tries each as Scotland recorded a superb 50-40 bonus-point win on Saturday.
Steyn told the BBC after the match they had a very clear plan against Les Bleus.
“I think we knew you couldn’t come and try contain them, you had to fire shots at them.
“You just knew it was going to be a great day. It was all about making sure we fired the first shot.
“I was more worried about how much we were celebrating, we needed to get our feet on the ground and keep going.”
Had reigning champions France recorded their fourth straight bonus-point win of this season’s championship, they would have wrapped up back-to-back titles.
But Scotland ran in seven tries as they posted their highest score against France, who managed six tries of their own in an enthralling contest.
TANDY: Wales win around the corner
Both France and Scotland now have 16 points heading into next weekend’s ‘Super Saturday’ round of concluding fixtures.
France will retain their title by achieving a better result against England in Paris than Scotland manage against Ireland in Dublin – unless both lose and Ireland sneak past to win the Six Nations instead.
Significantly, France’s match kicks off several hours after the Ireland-Scotland encounter, so Les Bleus will know exactly what they need to do in order to be crowned champions.
Scotland have never finished higher than third in the Six Nations era and were last crowned kings of European rugby when they won the last Five Nations in 1999.
That Scotland have a shot at the title represents a remarkable turnaround for a side who started this Six Nations with a lacklustre loss to Italy in Rome before beating England and edging out Wales.
Both Scotland coach Gregor Townsend and skipper Sione Tuipulotu had emphasised in the build-up the importance of making France feel “uncomfortable”.
The hosts did just that by opening the scoring through Graham’s fifth-minute try.
Scotland centre Huw Jones made a break and although Finn Russell fumbled the ball, it went backwards, and the flyhalf released Graham for a score that meant the wing stood alone as Scotland’s leading try-scorer with 36.
Darcy does it again
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France levelled the game at 7-7 in the 18th minute.
Antoine Dupont ripped the ball from Tuipulotu before finding wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who extended his own record by scoring a try in a ninth consecutive Six Nations match.
Fullback Thomas Ramos added a conversion from out wide.
Four minutes later, France were ahead when Theo Attissogbe, coming across from the right wing, ran on to Bielle-Biarrey’s grubber kick.
Scotland responded, George Turner broke from a lineout and passed to Steyn, running a superb line in the opposite direction.
George Turner
Kyle Steyn
Beautiful link up from Scotland! #GuinnessM6N #Since1883 pic.twitter.com/9jPyQMfxWJ
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Russell missed the conversion but Scotland regained the lead when, after a series of drives near the French line, prop Pierre Schoeman powered over for a 32nd-minute try.
Russell landed the conversion to leave Scotland 19-14 ahead at half-time, with France reduced to 14 men after flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert was sin-binned.
Scotland’s sense of adventure was rewarded in the 44th minute after they declined a kickable penalty in favour of an attacking lineout.
Scrumhalf Ben White, who plays his club rugby in France for Toulon, scored a bonus-point try from a sniping break as France centre Yoram Moefana carelessly turned his back.
Dupont then threw a loose pass straight to Steyn, who sprinted away to score.
Steyn speeds over the line for his second try of the match
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Scotland added another try when Graham raced clear and went in between the posts.
After Dupont’s reckless forward pass behind his own tryline, Tuipulotu put replacement back Tom Jordan in for Scotland’s seventh try in the 63rd minute. Russell kicked his sixth conversion for a 47-14 lead.
Dupont finished a brilliant length-of-the-field move three minutes later and France grabbed what could prove an important bonus point when Ramos went over six minutes from time.
Oscar Jegou and Ramos again added two more tries in a breathless finale.
SCOTLAND – Tries: Darcy Graham (2), Kyle Steyn (2), Pierre Schoeman, Ben White, Tom Jordan. Conversions: Finn Russell (6). Penalty: Russell.
FRANCE – Tries: Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Theo Attissogbe, Antoine Dupont, Thomas Ramos (2), Pierre-Louis Barassi. Conversions: Ramos (5).
– AFP
Photo: Russell Cheyne/Reuters
The post Steyn, Schoeman star as Scotland scalp France appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Scotland ensured the Six Nations title race will go to the final day of the tournament after a 90-point thriller against France at Murrayfield.
The post Steyn, Schoeman star as Scotland scalp France appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
