Six Nations/ Scotland 20 France 16: Scotland, with two tries from wing Sean Lamont, stood the Six Nations on its head yesterday, beating the red-hot favourites for the first time in seven years and seriously undermining assumptions about French preparations for their own World Cup in 19 months.
Such has been French dominance over Scotland that they were last beaten at Murrayfield 10 years ago. For their part, until yesterday, Scotland had managed only one Six Nations win from 10 games in the past two seasons.
However, in the face of a re-invented and confident Scotland, the French midfield crumbled and fumbled, leaving the pieces for the home backrow and centres to plunder. Frederic Michalak, shorn of the comforting presence of Yannick Jauzion outside him, had a horrible day.
He and the French backs put hardly a move together without a dropped pass or a turn-over, and when the fightback came deep into the second half it was the forwards who masterminded it.
Of the two tries scored as France rose from 20-3 down, one went to the replacement hooker Sebastien Bruno, and the move that led to the other involved a prop and a lock before the number eight, Julien Bonnaire, put the ball down in the corner.
Faced with the chaos in front of them, the Scottish backrow, led by captain Jason White, had a field day, as did Scotland's two under-fire half-backs, Mike Blair and Dan Parks.
Blair, who has played in the shadow of Chris Cusiter, constantly caught the French backrow napping, and afterwards Scotland's head coach, Frank Hadden, chastised "those who are still mud-slinging at Dan Parks" and ordered them to "have a look at themselves".
Hadden had asked for a good start. It could not have been better. Possibly spurred by the evidence from Dublin that Italy, their regular wooden spoon rivals, will be no easy touch in Rome on the last day of the championships, Scotland were in overdrive.
Michalak, until yesterday clearly Bernard Laporte's favoured outhalf after a season of indecision, had already taken a few weird kicking options and was clearly having one of his off days, when Parks lifted a high ball which Nicholas Brusque fumbled in front of his posts. Scotland rumbled around the French line for a good couple of minutes, ignoring one overlap, before the Six Nations debutant Alastair Kellock made the first dent. Andrew Henderson whipped the ball to Lamont in midfield and the wing had the easiest of jobs brushing off Michalak's feeble tackle to put Scotland ahead after 11 minutes.
Peterson landed the conversion, and slotted a penalty 10 minutes later when French hands were spotted in the ruck, and with a quarter of the match gone Scotland were 10 points clear, the French midfield was questioning itself, and even the captain, Fabien Pelous, had caught the habit of spilling the ball.
French frowns could have been even blacker when Blair chipped ahead in the 31st minute. Paterson appeared favourite until the old head on Christophe Dominici's shoulders decided to give away three points - which Paterson took - rather than a possible seven.
All France could manage before they went in for a half-time roasting from Laporte was three points from the boot of Jean-Baptiste Elissalde when half of Scotland crept off-side in front of the posts. But things were about to get much worse before they got better, and this time it was the French forwards with red faces.
Six minutes into the second half, the Scottish pack mauled the French back all the way from the 22-metre line before spilling over the line, Lamont emerging from the pile of bodies with the ball.
Then came the fight back. Within four minutes Bonnaire benefited from the efforts of Pelous, Bruno and Sylvain Marconnet to keep the move alive before Cedric Heymans gave the final pass to Bonnaire.
Elissalde missed the kick, but converted a penalty to make it 20-11, and Scottish nerves really started jangling as French passes began to stick. And for once the stadium went silent three minutes from time when the replacement Bruno went in at the corner.
They need not have worried. The 50 to 1 outsiders for the championship ran the clock down with a kick to the corner instead of an attempted penalty conversion and the much-promised Hadden revolution had claimed its first major scalp.
SCOTLAND: Southwell (Edinburgh); Paterson (Edinburgh), Di Rollo (Edinburgh), Webster, (Edinburgh, 29), Henderson (Glasgow), S Lamont (Northampton); Parks (Glasgow), Ross, (Leeds 64), Blair (Edinburgh), Cusiter, 56); Kerr (Leeds), Hall (Edinburgh), Lawson (Glasgow, 63), Douglas (Border Reivers), Smith (Edinburgh 41); Kellock (Edinburgh), MacLeod (Border Reivers, 75), Murray (Edinburgh), White (capt, Sale), Petrie, (Glasgow, 73), Hogg (Edinburgh), Taylor (Edinburgh).
Tries: Lamont 2. Cons: Paterson 2. Pens: Paterson 2.
FRANCE: Brusque (Biarritz); Heymans (Toulouse), Fritz (Toulouse), Valbon (Brive), Dominici (Stade Francais), Michalak (Toulouse), Elissalde (Toulouse); Yachvili (Biarritz, 81), Marconnet (Stade Francais), Szarzewski (Stade); Bruno (Sale, 66), De Villiers (Stade), Milloud, (Bourgoin 64); Pelous (capt, Toulouse), Thion (Biarritz), Nyanga (Toulouse), Martin (Stade Francais), Bonnaire (Bourgoin), Lievremont, (Biarritz, 74).
Tries: Bonnaire, Bruno. Pens: Elissalde 2.
Referee: J Kaplan (Rsa)
