Un Comedie Des Erreurs

A French title because I'm sure it's only the French that are laughing after this match. It would be unfair to say that only Scotland made mistakes, France made just about as many, and certainly blew several try scoring chances with silly mistakes.

The difference was, the French made the mistakes in the Scottish half, in the midst of flowing attacks in the main. Scotland made their mistakes in their own half, usually near their try-line and got punished by it. I could, I almost did, run with title "la fortune favorise le braver" instead (fortune favours the brave) because that would also have been a fair summary. France tried, and sometimes succeeded, sometimes failed. That is acceptable in Rugby - the commentators talk about the need to take your chances because every team will not convert 100% - rarely even in a game, certainly not over the course of 5 games in the Six Nations, and even more so in longer contests. France, if they'd converted their chances more ruthlessly could have been close to 50 points. Scotland really only looked like making one chance in the whole match. France swarmed to the threat and forced another mistake (a knock-on over the line). But, Scotland didn't look like making those chances, didn't look like a side that had courage and belief. It's hard to win any match with that attitude I'm sure, but again France?

In my previous post I asked if this was Wales' year. I asked that because I wondered, as everyone did I think, how France would cope with the mix of new faces - and new faces in some key positions. Well, they've answered that question now I guess. There's room for improvement still, but this was recognisably France as a fluid, creative, risk-taking side, the France of years gone by. I'm sure that they will improve and settle down as a unit, and that is, frankly, scary. It could come down to the show-down between France and Wales still, it's not impossible, and I'm sure that's a phrase that no one thought, including me, they would be writing about this year's Six Nations.