Scotland vs. France: Score and Reaction from 2016 Six Nations Round 4

Scotland beat France 29-18 during Sunday's Six Nations action, handing rivals England the 2016 title in the process.

Les Bleus needed to win to keep their title hopes alive in Round 4, but sloppy play and some struggles from the tee allowed the Scots to take a lead they never relinquished.

France started strongly and scored the first try through Guilhem Guirado, but the Scots answered through Stuart Hogg and Duncan Taylor, while Francois Trinh-Duc kept missing kicks for the visitors.

Gael Fickou reduced the deficit to 18-12 at half-time, but while Maxime Machenaud kept the match close from the tee, Tim Visser's second-half try gave the Scots some breathing room. 

As the Scrum reported, Scotland coach Vern Cotter told reporters he expected a stiff challenge from Les Bleus:

"

It’s great to be back at home after a good win on the road. The players are really looking forward to putting in a top performance at BT Murrayfield this weekend.

We’re expecting the French to be physical. They have a culture of trying to dominate their opposition. They are confrontational and will try to keep the ball alive, so we will have to put in a great defensive performance.

"

France needed to beat Scotland to keep their Six Nations hopes alive, and the visitors started brightly, winning a line-out and looking threatening in possession. A smart run from Wesley Fofana led to the first try of the match from Guirado, but Trinh-Duc missed the conversion.

The visitors looked remarkable with their passing, offloading the ball at will and displaying some fantastic creativity early. But Trinh-Duc's struggles from the tee cost them dearly in the opening stages, as the Montpellier pulled a penalty wide to leave even more points out on the field.

Per Mark Palmer of the Sunday Times, you never know what you'll get with Trinh-Duc:

Greig Laidlaw showed better composure to reduce the deficit to two points after 14 minutes, a sign of better things to come for the Scots. The hosts started to settle down and dealt with the French pressure better, and their bid to win was helped when skipper Guirado appeared to suffer an injury.

Scotland took the lead after 21 minutes after another Laidlaw penalty, and while possession mainly stayed with the French, the hosts continued to improve. Some smart passing eventually led to Hogg's first try of the match, and while Laidlaw missed the conversion, momentum was now fully with the Scots.

Rugby World was impressed:

A second Scotland try followed soon after, courtesy of Taylor, who took advantage of a quick tap-and-go, bursting down the sidelines. Laidlaw added the conversion, and suddenly, the hosts led 18-5.

The French had lost all momentum by this point, but Fickou scored a try just before half-time to reduce the deficit to only six points. It was an important score and one Les Bleus had to work hard for, with Scotland defending very well with their backs against the wall and the clock in the red.

Hogg added to Scotland's lead early in the second half with a monstrous kick that only just fell on the right side of the posts, drawing praise from BBC Sport:

France looked sloppy at the breakdown and dangerously close to losing control, but a timely penalty allowed Machenaud to kick his team to within six points of the Scots. That signaled the start of a strong period from the visitors, and before long, Machenaud was allowed to try again, kicking a penalty from just inside the Scottish half.

France continued to push, while the Scots seemed to be tiring rapidly. But a massive kick from Hogg forced a line-out in the French 22, and the Scots used it to apply some pressure. Richie Gray came close to crossing the line, before Hogg found Visser with a clever pass, pushing the lead back to eight points.

BBC Scotland's Alasdair Lamont couldn't believe Hogg spotted his team-mate like that:

France continued to use the offload, but turnovers started to plague Les Bleus, and with 10 minutes left to play, they were desperate for another try. But Scotland regained their composure after Visser's score, and Laidlaw added another penalty to secure the win.

While the win was a little bittersweet for the Scots, given that it handed England the title, a defeat of France was sorely needed after Les Bleus had beaten the hosts in 17 of their last 18 meetings, per BBC Sport's Ben Dirs.

England will travel to Paris to try to complete a Grand Slam in Week 5, while Scotland will visit Ireland in their final match of the tournament.

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