France vs. Scotland: Score, Report and Reaction from 2015 Six Nations Clash

France got their 2015 Six Nations account up and running with a hard-fought 15-8 win over Scotland on Saturday that will give both teams their share of lessons to learn from.

Vern Cotter's men put on a brave face, as they kept Les Bleus within just a couple of points for the majority of the fixture. However, it was just shy of being good enough to clinch the result, confirmed by Scottish Rugby:

The notion coming into this game was that a Cotter-led Scottish outfit would make things hard for their French hosts, and it was clear from the outset just how tight the teams would run this meeting.

As Opta's Russ Petty illustrates, Scotland had a habit of faring well against Les Bleus in the first half of their encounters, albeit eventually falling away traditionally:

The scrum was a particularly enticing area of drama early on, as both sides engaged to find a foothold, but Cotter's back also did a fine job of restraining Philippe Saint-Andre's outside weapons.

All except fly-half Camille Lopez, however, who made his impact through place kicking to give the French their only first-half points.

Scottish scrum-half Greig Laidlaw was having an impressive outing, however, and did everything in his power to stay within touch of the home side, while Stuart Hogg provided a bulk of the running threat.

The French crowd urged their men on with every glance at an opening, but it was actually substitute winger Dougie Fife—on for injured Tommy Seymour—who broke the try drought, to the praise of writer Brendan Gallagher:

A well-worked manoeuvre out to Fife's right wing had props on the flank and all, making the most of a clear overlap to send the Edinburgh speedster over from close range, ending the half with France leading 9-8.

David Rogers/Getty Images

A delectable second half awaited, but France knew that, like Ireland earlier in the day against Italy, they too needed improvement in terms of creating sight at the line.

Paul Williams of Rugby World hailed the evident impact of Cotter, with the New Zealander's team showing more competition than has been seen under previous regimes:

The second period turned out to be just as close as the first, though, and Clermont's Lopez had a mixed bag in kicking success, per the Irish Independent, nicking the post with one of his attempts from the tee:

Les Bleus would retain a slender lead at 12-8. With Lopez's kick not long after the second half commenced having a great impact on the struggle for power, neither team permitted to settle.

Young French upstart Teddy Thomas had a few glimpses of the brilliance he displayed during the autumn internationals, while Wesley Fofana also did his usual work in attempting to craft openings.

What was encouraging for Cotter, though, was to see how his side reacted in times of panic. Scotland did commit errors in defence, admittedly, but they rallied time and again to shore up their lines.

David Rogers/Getty Images

It wouldn't be enough, though, and much of the final 10 minutes were spent in their own half, with Lopez eventually managing to increase France's lead in the 79th minute with a simple slot.

At 15-8, the result looked beyond the Scots, and time wasn't on their side. Trumpets rang around the Stade de France as the home audience finally felt assured in their victory, and deservedly so.

In the end, both Cotter and Saint-Andre will take a sample of positives and negatives from their opening clash, but there's no prizes for Scotland finishing second best in the French capital.