France player ratings vs Scotland
France’s Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam bid ground to a halt on Sunday, as they fell to a 28-17 loss to a fired up Scottish side at Murrayfield.
Indiscipline cost France, who saw two members of their pack sent to the sin bin, one with a yellow card and the other with a red, and Scotland were more than capable of putting Les Bleus to the sword after that.
We have player ratings for all 23 of France’s player below. Do you agree with our assessment?
- Anthony Bouthier – 7
The full-back kept up his impressive debut Six Nations campaign with a solid defensive performance. His positioning in the kicking game and cover work in defence were all noteworthy, whilst he also came close to sparking attacking opportunities for Les Bleus on multiple occasions.
Continue reading below…
Watch: Alun Wyn Jones on what happened with Joe Marler at Twickenham
- Damian Penaud – 6
The wing took his early try well and was consistently looking for work off of his wing, even when France were reduced to 14 men. His industry helped France not look short in personnel on a number of attacks.
- Virimi Vakatawa – 7
Vakatawa flashed some early promise with his carrying, ability to keep phases alive and his one-on-one tackling in space, but he was restricted in his chances to build on it as the French pack leaked numbers and penalties, losing the battle with their Scottish counterparts in the process. Nevertheless, he found ways to manufacture attacking opportunities.
- Arthur Vincent – 6
The talented centre stepped up as a ball-carrier and pressure valve outside of Mathieu Jalibert, though he was not put in the best position to succeed by the indiscipline of some of his teammates.
- Gaël Fickou – 6
After losing out on a high ball early in the game, Fickou settled his nerves with some incisive carries. As with a number of the backs, his contributions were limited due to the struggles experienced by the French pack.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1236675321849622529?s=20
- Romain Ntamack – 5
The young fly-half’s game was cut short by an early head injury. He missed an early kick at goal and fumbled the high ball in the build-up to tackle in which he sustained the injury, making it a forgettable outing for the prodigy.
- Antoine Dupont – 6
A relatively slow start, which included a kick out on the full, was ended in spectacular fashion as Dupont connected with a wonderfully weighted kick assist for Penaud’s opening try. Unfortunately, he was having to play on the back-foot for much of the second half, though a couple of unusual fumbles did not help his case.
- Jefferson Poirot – 7
The loosehead was solid at the set-piece and put plenty of effort in the loose. He did his best to maintain parity after the French pack was reduced to 14 men. Poirot’s head and work rate did not drop, despite the game drifting away from Les Bleus.
- Julien Marchand – 8
An efficient and effective performance from the hooker, who successfully completed all eight of his lineout throws. He also carried productively, cleaned up loose balls and was able to force turnovers out of Scotland at the breakdown.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1236696528594644993?s=20
- Mohamed Haouas – 3
After a couple of solid scrums, Haouas began to come under pressure from Rory Sutherland. He later put his team in a hole with a punch to the head of Jamie Ritchie, an action which saw him pick up a red card just before the half.
- Bernard Le Roux – 6
One of the form players of the championship, Le Roux didn’t have a bad game at Murrayfield, though it fell below the high standards he has set so far in the tournament. His physicality and work rate still showed up, however, even if they weren’t as influential as they have been in other games over the past month or so.
- Paul Willemse – 4
The lock blotted his copybook with a couple of handling errors and his role in the yellow card that François Cros received. He will not look back favourably on his attempted swatted arm tackle on Chris Harris, either.
- François Cros – 5
Cros picked up an early yellow card that didn’t help his side, whilst he wasn’t able to exert the same kind of physicality or accuracy in defence and at the breakdown on Scotland that he has in previous matches.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1236691860745334788?s=20
- Charles Ollivon – 6
It was not the polished and all-action performance from Ollivon that we have become used to during this tournament, though he did provide positive impact as a lineout option and in the defensive line.
- Grégory Alldritt – 8
One of the French forwards to leave the game with more credit than he started it with. He carried well as was expected, but also made his presence known at the contact area and with his ability to link play and keep phases alive. Ticked boxes on the kick return and in the defensive line, too.
Replacements
- Peato Mauvaka – 6
Mauvaka kept up the set-piece efficiency that Marchand had laid the foundation for and was busy in the loose, if not quite as productive as the man he replaced on the pitch.
- Jean-Baptiste Gros – 6
Coughed up an unnecessary neck roll penalty shortly after arriving from the bench. The loosehead did do a reasonable job helping negate France’s numerical disadvantage in the scrum, though.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1236669895242366977?s=20
- Demba Bamba – 7
Bamba injected some much-needed energy and positivity in the loose, albeit with some understandable struggles in a seven-man scrum.
- Romain Taofifenua – 7
The lock added a power and dynamism that Willemse had been unable to provide, not to mention a safer pair of hands.
- Dylan Cretin – 6
The flanker was an upgrade for Cros on the day, although his tangible effect on the side was limited to some solid tackles and clear outs at the breakdown.
- Baptiste Serin – n/a
Came on too late to have a real impact on the game.
- Matthieu Jalibert – 5
An enigmatic performance from the replacement fly-half. He provided attacking spark at times and looked one of the more likely French players to make something happen, though that was mitigated by multiple defensive errors and some struggles with his positioning on the pitch.
- Thomas Ramos – 6
Added some late spark after coming on. It was not enough to turn thing around for France but he’s done his chances of featuring in the future no harm.
Watch: Eddie Jones and Owen Farrell face the media after their win over Wales
Comments on RugbyPass
Did footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
34 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
34 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to comments