Les Bleus Stunned by Scots

France’s Grand Slam hopes were shattered by a sensational Scotland performance at Scottish Gas Murrayfield in Round 4 of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations.

Scotland got off to a flying start when Darcy Graham scored just four minutes into the first half following a brilliant bit of play from Sione Tuipulotu. France are an excellent side when things click, and they quickly bounced back with two tries of their own: first through Louis Bielle-Biarrey, and then via Theo Attissogbe.

Scotland proved to be at their very best, however, as Kyle Steyn claimed his first try of the afternoon before powerhouse prop Pierre Schoeman crossed the line to put the home side in front before half-time.

After the break, Ben White got himself on the scoreboard, sneaking over to secure the try bonus point for the hosts. His opposite number, Antoine Dupont, had a uncharacteristically shaky game; this was epitomized when he threw an intercepted pass on the halfway line. Kyle Steyn seized the opportunity and dotted down for his second of the match, seemingly putting the game to bed.

France were shell-shocked and appeared to be capitulating, reminiscent of the inconsistent French sides of years gone by. The Scots were determined to take advantage of this lacklustre performance and truly capitalised by scoring a further two tries: Graham notching his second before Tom Jordan surged over.

With a quarter of an hour remaining, France finally sparked into life. Desperate not to leave empty-handed, they somehow managed to score four late tries. Dupont first made up for his earlier error, followed by a Thomas Ramos double and a score from replacement centre Pierre-Louis Barassi.

Despite the late surge, Scotland managed to hit the half-century mark thanks to a 77th-minute penalty from the ever-reliable Finn Russell, capping off a sensational afternoon for Gregor Townsend’s men.

France’s dream of a Grand Slam may have been smashed, but Scotland still hold a slim chance of winning the title. Scotland will now travel to Dublin to take on fellow contenders Ireland, while France will aim to bounce back against an England side seemingly in free-fall.

A real highlight of the afternoon was the interaction between Princess Anne and Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu, as the centre jokingly asked the Royal Patron for a hug in front of the euphoric Murrayfield crowd.