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The Gregor Townsend verdict as France win sets up Six Nations title finale

By PA
Gregor Townsend, Head Coach of Scotland, celebrates victory with Sione Tuipulotu of Scotland as he carries the The Auld Alliance Trophy after the Guinness Six Nations 2026 match between Scotland and France at Scottish Gas Murrayfield on March 07, 2026 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Gregor Townsend hailed rampant Scotland for hauling themselves from the wreckage of Rome right into the thick of a Guinness Six Nations title shootout.

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The Scots’ hopes of contending in this season’s championship looked to be over after they lost their first match away to Italy on February 7.

But a month on from that dismal day in the rain-lashed Eternal City, they find themselves preparing to head to Ireland next weekend with all to play for after following up their victories over England and Wales with an epic seven-try 50-40 triumph over France at Murrayfield.

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The result leaves the Scots behind the table-topping French only on points difference and two points ahead of the Irish.

France host England next Saturday night after the conclusion of the Triple Crown decider between Ireland and Scotland at Aviva Stadium.

Attack

212
Passes
145
154
Ball Carries
110
431m
Post Contact Metres
285m
9
Line Breaks
10

“I think we probably wouldn’t have thought we’d be in this position after the first match,” admitted head coach Townsend.

“To get bonus points against some quality teams, England and France were probably in the top three in the world coming into this tournament, certainly when they played us.

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“So to get four and seven tries and get maximum points against them was great.

“We’ve given ourselves an opportunity. It’s not all in our hands because France will play after us. We’ll just make sure we target that Ireland game and do all we can to win and see what happens after.”

France arrived in Edinburgh knowing a bonus-point win would have sealed them a second consecutive championship and teed them up for a first Grand Slam since 2022.

But it was the rampant Scots who stole the show with one of their greatest-ever performances to blow Fabien Galthie’s team away.

Wings Darcy Graham and Kyle Steyn both scored doubles, while Pierre Schoeman, Ben White and substitute Tom Jordan also crossed.

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The only blemish for the Scots, who led 47-14 after 65 minutes, was that they allowed the French to notch four tries in the final quarter of an hour to close their deficit to 10 points.

Gregor Townsend
Ben White gets in Antoine Dupont’s face – PA

“It’s a proud day for us,” said captain Sione Tuipulotu. “But I think also one we’ve been building towards. And also one that maybe, if you’d been on our training ground, not that we expected, but we felt what we were capable of.

“I just couldn’t be prouder of, not necessarily the big scoring moments, but the way we reacted to moments.

“I’m really proud to be leading a group of guys like that, ones that rally around each other, rally around our coach as we’ve done since the start of the tournament.

“We’ve given ourselves an opportunity. It’s something a Scotland team hasn’t done before, going into the last week with everything to play for.”

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8 Comments
S
Soliloquin 45 days ago

Scotland played brillantly on 3 aspects less discussed:

-the sun: they chose the right side to nullify France’s strong starts. Ramos’ first knock on put them in a bad position, and it seemed like all France’s attacks were forced to be done on the sun’s side of the pitch.

In the second half, the Scots put all the power when they were supposed to work against and overwhelmed the French team with speed.

-the mindset: Galthié talked about the smaller than referees’ locker room. Townsend picked it up and motivated his team.

-the unusual French messed up discipline: brain rots like Cros’, Marchand’s, Jegou’s… It was things well known before Galthié’s era. It felt like watching the 2012-2019 team. Of course, there were some incidents like Haouas against the Scots (twice), but not smaller idiotic faults. Especially from players who usually avoid these kind of behaviors.

J
John Breslin 45 days ago

Finn is the man! He should be the best #10 in this hemisphere with his age profile and experience setting him apart


Totally iconic with his cheeky smile, laid back nature and frankly alarming pot belly


The late French bonus PT has maybe done for them though. Just took their eye off it the last 5 mins. I can see them getting the win in Dublin but it may just be a triple crown for them this year

c
cnw 45 days ago

The Scots have been building to this. They showed glimpses in the Autumn series and have now put on two clinics at home on how to play with speed. They have a good sized pack and going 6-2 means they can sustain pressure. Also I think the French have been overhyped because of their win against a poor Ireland. All the talk of them being clear No 2 and marching up to SA was clearly premature. And I think they are paying for not travelling with their top players to the SH. But against that, what it also shows is how good the 6N is. This is great preparation for the 6N teams for the WC next year.

E
Eric Elwood 45 days ago

Good win by Scotland. France panicked in the middle section with a few intercept tries. Dupont’s attempt to draw three players towards him before throwing long was worth a try for France in Twickenham last year but this year was worth a 5m scrum and Scottish try. Russell was masterful again. Two key penalties for tackling without the ball was from him dummying at last spilt second when he sensed the French player was going to tackle the receiver.

Townsend has handled himself with class this year. An English interviewer was trying to dampen his day by de facto mocking him for losing to Italy. He pointed out that it was a very Strong Italian team and Scotland rallied strongly in that match and after.

Intriguing match in Dublin. After Scotland’s huge high against England they came down versus Wales. After a narrow win over Italy Ireland rose in the next match. Likely same after Wales but they will need any advantage they can get to beat Scotland.

J
Jimmy Jamjar 45 days ago

That English commentator’s question about Townshend’s future to Tuipulatu after the Scot’s’ loss to Italy was poor form & a grubby attempt to sensationalize a game any of the other 6 Nations teams could have lost on that day.


I wonder what she’s thinking today?

H
Hammer Head 45 days ago

Scotland played the perfect game against the French.


The French start fast in the first third, slump in the middle third and then finish strong with their bench in the final third.


I put this down to the size of the French pack and the fact that they have come to rely on their bench. I think it’s made them lazy.


The Scots mostly neutralized the French in the first, keeping close to them on the scoreboard. They capitalized in the middle third - outscoring the French and leaving them with too much to do in the last third. When the French did come alive again and score some easy tries.


It’s a very clear pattern that’s emerged with the French. They simply don’t have the cardio in their pack to play 50 minutes with intensity. They defend more and more narrowly during the slump amongst their forwards. Had Scotland gone wide more often, they could have put a few more on the French in that middle period.


France must work on their forwards cardio fitness. They’re big, but they’re not fit enough.

S
SB 45 days ago

What a final day upcoming!

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