Scotland shows signs of progress despite France ending winning streak

Kelly Arby completed a brilliant corner for France. Photo: Getty Images/Andy Buchanan Scotland 5-15 France

Brian Easson insisted Scotland had «made progress» after edging out France in the second round of the Women's Six Nations.

A quick comparison to last year's match certainly shows that they are moving in the right direction, even if this defeat gave them victory. The seven-match winning streak came to an end. Scotland lost 55-0 to France in 2023 but were seconds away from claiming a losing bonus point in Edinburgh. Only Emeline Gros' goal in the 81st minute deprived them of this chance.

“It was really encouraging in a lot of ways,” Scotland coach Easson said. “Defensively we put our bodies on the line and our lineout defense was excellent. We put pressure on them all the time. It's difficult because we deserved a bonus point for this.

“We're really disappointed with this match against the third best team in the world. We are a team that gets things done.”

The home defense was excellent throughout the match, with France unable to cross the line until Kelly Arby scored in the 53rd minute. It was the first time the French defenders got it right, with Gabriel Vernier, Nassira Conde and Emilie Boulard combining to create space for striker Arbey to run into the corner.

France play with quick releases, looking to exploit their opponents by moving the ball past goal, but too often against Scotland they forced those passes and the moves fell flat. Sometimes the simple option can be more effective.

Scotland proved this in the first half. Not only did their defense limit France to Lina Keyroua's penalty, but their driving maul struck Alice Martin to give them a 5-3 lead at half-time.

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— Women's Guinness Six Nations (@Womens6Nations) March 30, 2024

The French dominated the territory in the second 40 and eventually that blue line of defense was broken, allowing the visitors to make it two wins from two in the championship . .

Lisa Thomson will rue the 30-second period when she missed a penalty and then knocked down the return, resulting in a huge sweep of territory. Helen Nelson's two missed shots on goal also proved costly in the end.

However, after winning Wales for the first time in 20 years with this relatively narrow defeat, Scotland will take confidence heading into their next match against England by two weeks. Easson said: “We're talking about tirelessness and heart working for each other. We've got a sold-out crowd here in England and we know we'll put on another performance that we'll all be proud of.»