Scotland 'did enough to win' as Townsend rues Six Nations defeat to France

By Sports Desk February 26, 2023

Scotland boss Gregor Townsend claimed his team did everything but take their chances as they fell 32-21 to France in Paris, seeing Grand Slam hopes collapse.

The visitors came back from an early 19-0 deficit to close to 25-21 going into the final moments, when Gael Fickou went over for a clinching try.

After beginning their campaign with wins over England and Wales, the Scots arrived at the Stade de France believing they could extend their successful run, but an early red card for Grant Gilchrist put them in trouble.

Fabien Galthie's hosts pulled clear but were down to 14 men themselves when Mohamed Haouas was ordered off for a head-on-head hit on Ben White.

Head coach Townsend said: "From our perspective we're disappointed not to win. I'm so proud of a lot of aspects of the game, how we played, the effort that we put in, our togetherness, our resilience that was on show, but we created enough chances to win the game.

"We created enough chances to be leading at half-time, which was incredible to think when we were a man down and points down on the scoreboard. We believed we could win that in the second half, and we're just disappointed we didn't come away with a win.

"In the second half the game opened up even more, and we had opportunities to take them on wide, which we did. We just didn't take those opportunities. Credit to France in defence, but we probably played better today than in our last two games, and we did enough to win. We feel we did enough to win, but you've got to take those opportunities when you play the top teams in the world."

There is still a chance of a Triple Crown, with unbeaten Ireland heading to Murrayfield in two weeks' time.

"It's big for us to be still in the competition with two games to go, to be playing for a trophy and the Triple Crown," Townsend said. "It'll be a different game against Ireland. I don't think it will be as open. We'll wait and see if it is, and they're a difficult team to play against.

"But we really believe in what we have here. We've got up against one of the best teams in the world on their own patch with 14 men, and we've come away really disappointed not to get a win or get four tries against their defence."

France defence coach Shaun Edwards reflected on a dramatic match, saying Les Bleus knew the size of the challenge they faced.

"It's difficult to sum it up because there were so many ebbs and flows: red cards, fantastic tries, interceptions," Edwards said. "It had the lot, some fantastic goal-kicking as well. It was a high-class game.

"We knew we were playing against a high-quality opponent. They're the only team to have beaten us here since Fabien took over, so we were doubly determined not to let that happen again.

"It ended up being 14 against 14 so that was equal, but obviously having an advantage at first for us was something we took, and we picked up some points. It doesn't affect that much in defence. I think both teams adapted well."

Related items

  • Gatland 'still the best coach in the world', says Wales assistant Howley Gatland 'still the best coach in the world', says Wales assistant Howley

    Wales assistant Rob Howley described Warren Gatland as the "world's best coach" and insists the under-fire boss is going nowhere.

    Wales have lost each of their last 11 Test matches, their longest ever run in men’s rugby, overtaking a 10-game stretch between November 2002 and August 2003.

    Their most recent defeat came by 32 points (20-52 v Australia), their heaviest loss since a 36-point thrashing at home to South Africa in August last year (16-52).

    And it is not going to get any easier with world champions South Africa the visitors to the Principality Stadium on Saturday for Wales' Autumn Nations Series finale.

    South Africa have emerged victorious in six of their last seven Tests against Wales (L1) and have also won each of their last three games against Wales by margins of 16+ points.

    Another triumph would see Wales going the calendar year without winning a Test, which has not happened since 1937, though Howley has no doubt that Wales are in safe hands.

    "We've got the best coach in the world who has had a legacy of more than 13 years," said Howley.

    "He's won Grand Slams and there is no better coach to have in your camp than Warren. He gives players the confidence and self-belief they need to go out and play."

    During Gatland's first stint in charge from 2008 to 2019, Wales were World Cup semi-finalists, Six Nations champions and Grand Slam winners.

    This time around, amid far more challenging circumstances and attempting to mould a new squad, Wales have won just six out of his 23 Tests at the helm.

    Wales have also won just one of their last 11 Test matches at the Principality Stadium, last winning in Cardiff against Argentina in November 2023. 

    Howley was asked if he would take an interim head coach job if Gatland departed, but responded defiantly by saying, "Warren Gatland won't leave".

    Howley insists Gatland's experiences can help turn Wales around, saying: "Warren is a hugely respected coach and has coached over a number of years.

    "His legacy with different teams is a winning legacy. At the moment, we are in this spell where we are losing.

    "We at some point know we will win, and I hope it will be the next game on Saturday. I think at the moment we've got the best coach who has got years of experience.

    "We've been in changing rooms where we've won and lost, Lions changing rooms going into the series at 1-1 with everything on the line.

    "He understands rugby, and I believe Wales have got the best coach in the world to get us out of this."

  • Farrell backs 'composed' Prendergast to shine on first Ireland start Farrell backs 'composed' Prendergast to shine on first Ireland start

    Andy Farrell believes Sam Prendergast is ready to step up ahead of his first Ireland start against Fiji at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday. 

    Farrell has made seven changes to his team, handing first caps to Leinster's Gus McCarthy and Ulster's Cormac Izuchukwu for the penultimate game of the Autumn Nations Series.

    The Ireland head coach has handed Prendergast the number 10 jersey for the first time after he was used off the bench in the closing stages of last week's win over Argentina.

    Prendergast has only started eight games for Leinster, but Farrell had no hesitation in handing him a first start after he impressed on the Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa.

    "I'm confident from what we've seen. We took him on the Emerging [Ireland] and he played in all of those games," said Farrell.

    "The aim of that was to grab hold of that team and make sure that he treated it like it was his own, as though he was in charge, and he did that in spades.

    "This week we've seen the benefit of that, but we need to see it transfer, obviously.

    "Yes, his character is composed, confident but yet not over-confident. He's assertive in what he wants, and he has a nice way about how he goes about his business.”

    Farrell also had a glowing review for Izuchukwu, saying: "Izzy has been in and around the squad for a while. The first Emerging Ireland tour was when we first came across his ability, his athleticism, his point of difference.

    "That was a couple of years ago but the improvement in his maturity of his game, because he was young in the 15-a-side game when the first tour was on, but the difference between the first and second tour was like chalk and cheese.

    "His ability and potential with that maturity, he deserves a shot to show us all what he's got."

    On McCarthy, who captained the Ireland Under-20s to a Six Nations Grand Slam in 2023, Farrell said: "He's been a captain and you can see why because his maturity in how he goes about the game."

    He added: "We took him on the training week [to Portugal] as a development player and he showed up unbelievably well. He forced our hand to keep him in the squad first and foremost and he deserves a shot to see what he can do as well."

    Ciaran Frawley also returns to the bench after missing out last weekend on the back of a poor outing against New Zealand. 

    And Cian Healy must wait another week for a record-breaking 134th cap - having drawn level with Brian O'Driscoll against Argentina - after the prop was left out of the 23.

    Ireland team to play Fiji

    Jamie Osborne; Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Sam Prendergast, Craig Casey; Andrew Porter, Gus McCarthy, Finlay Bealham; Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne; Cormac Izuchukwu, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).

    Replacements: Rob Herring, Tom O'Toole, Thomas Clarkson, Iain Henderson, Cian Prendergast, Conor Murray, Ciaran Frawley, Stuart McCloskey.

  • 'World-class' Scotland will provide Wallabies' sternest test – Skelton 'World-class' Scotland will provide Wallabies' sternest test – Skelton

    Australia will face their sternest test to date when they continue their autumn tour against a "world-class" Scotland team at Murrayfield on Sunday.

    That is the view of forward Will Skelton, who believes the Wallabies' victories in England and Wales have brought a new energy and confidence to their camp.

    Having crashed out in the pool stage at last year's World Cup in France before finishing last in the Rugby Championship, Australia have looked a team reborn in recent weeks.

    A first victory at Twickenham since 2015 and a 52-20 rout of Wales – their biggest-ever away win in matches between the teams – have made it an excellent tour to date for Joe Schmidt's side.

    But La Rochelle lock Skelton feels their toughest assignment is to come this week, saying: "We've won two games, we're very aware of that.

    "The Test against Scotland is going to be the hardest one yet. We're excited about this weekend and we're looking forward to ripping into it.

    "Physically they're up there with the top five in the world. I think set-piece wise they're really strong.

    "You've got a guy like Finn Russell who's a maestro at the back there. I think it's going be a close one and we'll be up for it.

    "There's some class players in the Scottish team and, when they're at it they're world-class, so we're going to have to be on top of our game."

     

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.