Crunched: Frederic Michalak
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France battled to a 23-16 win over Scotland on a wet night in Paris in the final match of the 2013 Six Nations.
The visitors were impressive in defence during the first half as they repelled multiple phases of French attacks, with two Greig Laidlaw penalties putting them 6-0 ahead going into the break.
But France were rejuvenated in the second half, the introduction of Maxime Machenaud transforming their fortunes as they first took the lead thanks to three penalties from Frederic Michalak and then further with two tries from Wesley Fofana and Maxime Médard.
It concluded a miserable tournament for France who finish bottom of the table for the first time since 1999, but Scotland will take heart from their showing in Paris as they improved on negative pre-tournament expectations given the interim head coaching appointment of Scott Johnson.
France tore up the fragile pitch with a series of impressive scrums in the opening five minutes, but it was Scotland who took the lead thanks to a penalty from scrum-half Laidlaw.
Laidlaw furthered the Scots lead minutes later after good French pressure, the hosts unable to put points on the scoreboard early on.
A series of French scrums near the Scottish try line took up a fair chunk of the first half and frustratingly failed to yield any points, with Scotland escaping thanks to consistent defence as boos rang around the Stade de France.
A clever piece of skill from Vincent Clerc kept a Michalak cross-field kick in play, volleying the ball into the path of Yoann Huget, but the French attack eventually broke down following a knock on from Fofana.
Scotland looked the brighter attacking threat going into half-time, replacement Max Evans chipping through but he was beaten to the ball by Maxime Médard. No further scores before the interval meant France were without any points by half-time.
France did finally find their way onto the scoreboard five minutes into the second half, Michalak adding a penalty after good pressure at the scrum.
The hosts then drew level with another Michalak penalty a few minutes later, before completing the turnaround with a third Michalak strike on 54 minutes to take a 9-6 lead.
Laidlaw levelled the scores with a third penalty, but then France took control.
Wesley Fofana capitalised on some fine offloading down the right hand side to grab the game's first try, with Michalak converting.
Bastareaud's break then led to a second French score from Médard as France opened up some daylight between themselves and the visitors. Michalak was forced to retire hurt, receiving warm applause from the crowd after a difficult Six Nations, leaving Machenaud to convert.
Scotland then went from 22 to 22 to score a breakaway try for Tim Visser, giving the Scots hope as time ticked away. They were unable to seal another victory though as France clung on, easing the pressure on Philippe Saint-André but meaning that they finish the championship at the bottom of the table.
Man of the match: A real game-changing substitute, the introduction of scrum-half Maxime Machenaud switched the home sides's fortunes as he worked with first Michalak and then François Trinh-Duc.
Moment of the match: A half-time rollicking from Philippe Saint-André appeared to snap France into life, as they took the lead with three penalties after the break and then ran in two tries.
Villain of the match: That man Michalak again baffled with his selection, and was forced to leave the field due to injury as a respite after a nasty forearm earlier on.
The scorers:
For France:
Tries: Fofana, Médard
Cons: Michalak, Machenaud
Pens: Michalak 3
For Scotland:
Try: Visser
Con: Laidlaw
Pens: Laidlaw 3
The teams:
France: 15 Yoann Huget, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Antonie Claassen, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements: 16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Christophe Samson, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 François Trinh-Duc, 23 Florian Fritz or Gael Fickou.
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Moray Low, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Alastair Kellock, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Max Evans.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
Comments
Dafydd29 says...
Hopefully Michalak's last game for France.
Posted 06:14 17th March 2013
mlbp says...
Until the 65th minute this was the worst-ever Six Nations match. Confidence is a commodity difficult to come by in rugby and France was playing without any for too many games and until well into the second half all both teams did was exchange mistakes. Dour match with many butchered opportunities by both teams, mostly by France.
A surge of energy from France (Machenaud is a terrier and a dynamo, I always preferred him to Parra, who is overrated in my opinion) and better options made by Michalak brought the game from its torpor. The French started to play with more confidence and energy and they gained momentum until they found continuity in their attacks. Fofana must have the strongest legs in world rugby and Bastareaud is a prop forward with the speed of a winger. His breaks put France on the front foot and then the match opened up, so for almost 20 minutes it was watchable for a fan without having to resort to enormous amounts of beer to digest it.
The first French try was received with little joy but the second opened up the floodgates. The players' body language changed between the two tries.
Machenaud deserves a special mention for his activity and his good decisions. It's true it stopped raining and conditions improved but he can play round the fringes and can mix his play with Michalak better. Freddie was having again a bit of a nightmare until he found his mojo for a few minutes. He offers more in attack and defence than any other flyhalf in Europe on a good day.
Picamoles was a brute force again, Dusautoir was his destructive self, the front row was great and Maestri deserves a mention. Huget has played superbly and for me he has been the second best 15 in the tournament after Halfpenny.
Scotland responded well to the period of sustained pressure by France in the first half but as always they lack any creativity. The future looks difficult for them.
Posted 22:49 16th March 2013
new_j4a says...
France is clearly getting back to its world beating rugby form. Much as I love Freddie, I think you need a more consistent 10 and a better 9 than Parra. There must be a French Catrakilis or Goosen out there somewhere? The 9 spot is a no brainer as the article points out.
Posted 22:40 16th March 2013
butl says...
I think Hamilton might be in trouble for actions that resulted in Michalak's shoulder injury
Good game though
Posted 22:20 16th March 2013
Iyhel says...
Finally.
I almost shut of the screen at the break as the French butchery fest continued...
I have the feeling that Scotland felt asleep with overconfidence and thought that waiting for French mistakes would be enough, just as against Ireland. But where Ireland were awful, the French tonight were a bit unlucky and eventually luck turned.
I hope we can build on that, I'm not really confident on meeting the AB just in 3 months but that's just the way it's planned so it'll have to do...
If anyone has any idea of how PSA plans his substitutions, please let us know. He's an expert in dousing his own team's momentum!
I found the ref rather good except for some strange leniency on obstructions and various acts of foul play.
Posted 22:09 16th March 2013