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France player ratings vs Scotland | 2026 Guinness Six Nations

France's scrum-half Antoine Dupont hands-off Scotland's centre Huw Jones during the Six Nations international rugby union match between Scotland and France at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland on March 7, 2026. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images)

France player ratings: One of the most staggering games of Six Nations ever played and probably the Scots greatest performance of the modern era. Scotland came out like Mel Gibson before the Battle of Stirling Bridge. They played the perfect game to rock and unsettle France, humbling the French 50-40 in a manner that this team has never been humbled.

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Here’s how the France players rated:

1. Jean-Baptiste Gros – 6.5
France’s most reliable forward on a bruising afternoon. Put in a superb cover tackle on Blair Kinghorn just before the break and later smashed Scott Cummings with another big hit. One of the few Frenchmen who consistently matched Scotland’s physical edge.

2. Julien Marchand – 2.5
A nightmare outing. From the off he looked on the wrong side of referee Angus Gardner, repeatedly pinged around the scrum and ruck. Running back through the passing lane on 29 minutes summed up a performance riddled with penalties before being hooked at the break.

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3. Dorian Aldegheri – 4
Had a torrid time with Pierre Schoeman and never seemed to get a read on Gardner’s interpretation at scrum time. The pressure mounted as the half wore on and Scotland’s loosehead increasingly got the better of him.

4. Charles Ollivon – 6
Soared in the air like a French gazelle early on and almost managed to get underneath Schoeman for the Scot’s try. Worked hard as always and tried to bring some calm to a pack that was beginning to fray.

5. Mickael Guillard – 5
Showed some athleticism in the lineout early doors but struggled to impose himself physically as Scotland gained the upper hand. Replaced early in the second half as France searched for answers.

6. Francois Cros – 6
At times he looked like a cruise missile in defence, flying out of the line to crunch anything in blue. Yet even Cros wasn’t immune from the brain fog that crept into France’s game, grabbing Russell at a ruck and conceding a needless penalty.

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7. Oscar Jegou – 5.5
Tackled with the energy of a meth-head on the opening day of a three-day bender, charging around the pitch with ferocious intensity. But discipline issues cost France dearly, most notably when recklessly taking out Ben White which allowed Scotland to strike soon after.

8. Anthony Jelonch – 6
Produced a big early carry that slammed into the Scottish brick wall and kept grafting through the opening exchanges. Forced off for a HIA early in the second half which disrupted France further.

9. Antoine Dupont – 5
A true game of two halves. His steal in contact on Sione Tuipulotu before Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s first try was pure genius and a reminder why he remains the best player in the world. But the second half was riddled with brainrot errors, including a pass straight to Kyle Steyn and a forward pass behind his own goal line after carrying it over, that will haunt the highlights reel. Grabbed a late try but it could not disguise the chaos that had unfolded.

10. Matthieu Jalibert – 4
Tried desperately to spark something, including a neat grubber that almost released Attissogbe early on. Yet the pressure mounted and decision-making began to wobble as Scotland tightened the screw. His yellow card didn’t help France’s cause.

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11. Louis Bielle-Biarrey – 6
Looked a little shaken in the frantic opening stages as Scotland harried France relentlessly. Yet when the opportunity came he showed his class, finishing superbly in the corner after Dupont’s moment of magic. His duel with Darcy Graham was pure box office throughout.

12. Yoram Moefana – 3
Selected for his defensive solidity but it never materialised. Missed a one-on-one tackle on Huw Jones early and finished the day with seven misses, a brutal stat in a game where Scotland constantly probed the midfield. May well never play for France again, knowing Gatlhie.

13. Nicolas Depoortere – 4
A quiet and largely ineffective outing. Managed just three metres from two carries in the first half and missed a pair of tackles before being replaced early in the second period.

14. Theo Attissogbe – 5
A mixed bag. Knocked on early under pressure and later delivered a poor pass that might have sent Bielle-Biarrey clear. Did well to gather the kick for his try and made a sharp take after the break, but overall a difficult afternoon.

15. Thomas Ramos – 6
An uncharacteristic spill under the high ball inside the opening three minutes set the tone for a nervy start. To his credit he responded well, bursting through to help create France’s first try and later putting Bielle-Biarrey into space. But the defensive chaos around him proved impossible to manage. A late try put some respect on the scoreboard.

Replacements

16. Peato Mauvaka – 5.5
A physical presence off the bench and immediately more effective than Marchand had been. Carried with intent and added some much-needed edge.

17. Rodrigue Neti – 6
Threw himself into the defensive effort with some thunderous hits as Scotland poured forward. A desperate cameo in difficult circumstances.

18. Demba Bamba – 6
Made an immediate impression with a big bounce off a Scotland defender that briefly lifted French spirits.

19. Thibaud Flament – 4.5
Struggled to make much of an impact after coming on. France needed energy and control, but his presence barely registered.

20. Emmanuel Meafou – 4
Showed soft hands with one neat touch but then undid the good work by conceding a penalty almost immediately for entering from the side. A moment of pure brain-rot in a match already slipping away.

21. Lenni Nouchi – 5
Thrown into the fray early and later picked up a yellow card as Scotland continued to pile on the pressure.

22. Baptiste Serin – 7
Entered during the closing stages with France chasing shadows. Showed a cool head to score the try that handed France a crucial bonus point.

23. Pierre-Louis Barassi – 4
Managed to miss four tackles in just over half an hour, which neatly summed up France’s defensive malaise.

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Comments

15 Comments
S
Soliloquin 45 days ago

The centre pairing was totally overshadowed by their Scottish counterparts.

Against such a world class opposition, you need to be at your top level. 4 weeks off the highest NH level were too much for the UBB duo.

G
GrahamVF 45 days ago

Agreed Sol. I hope Jones is OK for the Ireland game. I live in Cape Town and Hu Jones went to school here and first made his name playing for University of Cape Town in the Varsity Cup which UCT won. He was quickly taken up into the Western Province/Stormers setup and then of course was snapped up by his natural country Scotland. So I was very pleased to watch him help his team to an historic win today.

T
TI 45 days ago

Dupont was shocking in the 2nd half. He still had a moment or two, because he’s still Dupont, but this was probably his worst game ever. I never thought I’d see this, but Serin was an upgrade when he came on, got the backline moving.

S
Soliloquin 45 days ago

By far his worse game in the French shirt - it happens.

He should have been replaced before, I think his try would have been scored by someone else anyway.

H
Hammer Head 45 days ago

Bad day at the office France!

S
SB 45 days ago

Flament 4.5? He was brilliant when he came on. Marchand’s penalty was very harsh, considering White hadn’t even got the ruck yet. 2.5 is ridiculous.


The other ones overall are fair, thought Ollivon and Guillard lacked impact in the second row. Flament and Meafou will start against England I think.

T
TI 45 days ago

Starting Meafou is hard, as he isn’t a line-out option. Neither does he have the stamina for a 50+ minute game.

For such a big guy, he wasn’t really unstoppable in the carry.

Bamba looked even better on the ball, I thought.

T
TT 45 days ago

Bizarrely missed in the review (is dear du pont untouchable?) ie 1 for ALL TIME rugby bloopers,


The Dupont forward pass AFTER … wait for it … taking it in goal 🤣🤣🤣 You couldn't make that up 🤣🤣🤣forward pass in goal … after taking it in 🤣🤣🤣

E
Eric Elwood 44 days ago

You seem to ahve an issue with DuPont. South African I guess?

Did you watch the England v France match last year? Dupont was caught in no mans land deep in his 22, he waited for English players to descend on him before releasing Ramos for a try scoring move.

He tried the same again but LBB who was left completely unmarked did not retreat to make a flat pass easier, and Scotland closed aggressively.

So a mistake ofcourse, not quite the blooper you think.

s
sorrel 45 days ago

Honestly, I thought it wasn’t the worst thing he could have done. Backwards pass wasn’t on, no room for a kick, don’t want to risk dropping the ball to let the opposition score, setting it down yourself is a 100% 5 meter scrum, passing it forwards is a 99.999% 5 meter scrum and 0.001% all the refs simultaneously go blind.

B
BM 45 days ago

It didnt really make much of difference, if he holds the ball and gets tackled its the same scrum. Maybe he was worried about getting stripped in contact and chucking it away wasnt dissimilar to an American football quarterback tossing the ball away to avoid a sack.

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