The French team secured a 30-27 victory against Scotland in their second World Cup preparation match held in St-Étienne. Here are some key takeaways from the match (not exhaustive):

Scrum: Improvement evident

While referee Nic Berry struggled with decisions during the match, France significantly improved their scrummaging compared to last week. A testament to these improvements was the match-winning penalty earned by the replacement front row of Gros-Bourgarit-Atonio.

In the first half, the set plays were executed well, and the backs took full advantage. Ntamack even scored the opening try of the match from a scrum play.

Defense: Still some gaps

Scotland’s objective was straightforward: to make France run. The effective playing time reached 45 minutes, as noted by Fabien Galthié. This objective was achieved, and yet the French defense held strong.
Although the French team started their preparation a month later than the Scottish team, they knew their opponents would move the ball throughout the game.

Despite the challenges, the French team held their ground. Sparked by their counter-attacks, they maintained the scoreline and contained the Scottish attacks. Special mention goes to Gaël Fickou for his solid defensive performance. Defensive positioning wasn’t flawless, however.

There were instances of mistakes from Danty and Villiere, but overall, the French team, while conceding four tries, displayed good defensive efforts. Fatigue played a significant role.

Inaccuracies

From lineout combinations to general gameplay, inaccuracies were common on the French side. This being a preparation match, such issues are understandable.

Work still needs to be done on maintaining gameplay fluidity and collective cohesion throughout the match. Handling errors and mistakes often resulted from timing issues in runs. Two more preparation matches remain to address this.

Level of play: Houston, we got a problem.

What’s in store for September? The level of play in the match was genuinely interesting. Despite some breaks in the flow, the overall standard of the game was high.

This hints at an extraordinary World Cup ahead. The teams on the field weren’t even at 100% tonight. So, when they are…