Gelez spearheads French win over Scots

SCOTLAND’S battered pride was dealt another blow at the Stade de France yesterday afternoon as Ian McGeechan’s men collapsed to their second heavy RBS Six Nations Championship defeat in succession with a 38-3 defeat to France.

Memories of last weekend's record drubbing by the Irish came flooding back as the Scots' shortcomings in attack were ruthlessly exposed once again, this time by a French side which never quite hit top gear.

Brendan Laney, given the nod ahead of Gordon Ross at outhalf, gave his side more options in attack but the lack of firepower outside him ensured the Scots never created any real momentum.

The performance was a sad way for skipper Bryan Redpath to mark his 50th cap but his team had no answer to France's power up front or their incisive play behind the scrum.

French outhalf Francois Gelez, handed the number 10 shirt after Gerard Merceron's below-par effort against England last weekend, justified his inclusion in the side with a towering display. The Agen playmaker showed an assured touch and rarely took the wrong option, capping his afternoon with a 18-point haul courtesy of a near-flawless kicking display.

Fabien Pelous, Clement Poitrenaud, Damien Traille and Aurelien Rougerie all touched down for tries but the real hero of the day was No 8 Imanol Harinordoquy who led France's domination up front and set up Traille's first try.

A long-range penalty in the fifth minute drew Scotland level but the visitors were quickly back under pressure when Vincent Clerc was put into space down the left only for Kenny Logan, covering from the opposite wing, to pull off a try-saving tackle.

France won the ensuing lineout however and began a powerful forward drive which saw second row Pelous driven over in the corner. Gelez missed the conversion but made amends soon after with a penalty.

A promising French break was cut short by a high tackle on Gelez, who gratefully accepted the ensuing penalty opportunity before adding another three points in first half injury time.

The second period was barely a minute old when France grabbed their second try Clerc made the initial inroads before feeding Xavier Garbajosa whose final pass found Poitrenaud for a try in the corner.

Gelez slotted the conversion but his side were soon on the back foot as the Scots launched a rare foray into enemy territory. But the hapless visitors could make little use of a five-metre scrum as their backline move descended into a series of errors, letting France off the hook.

France went further ahead in the 60th minute through Traille, who scooped up a loose ball at the back of a ruck before ghosting over under the posts for a try which Gelez converted.

There was time for one final try and inevitably it came from the French as Rougerie collected a towering bomb before touching down, with Gelez's conversion completing what was a miserable afternoon for the Scots.

In the meantime, England boss Clive Woodward has made an impassioned defence of Six Nations rugby after his unbeaten tournament favourites were given a thorough examination by perceived no-hopers Wales.

Second-half tries from centre Will Greenwood a record-equalling sixth against Wales and replacement flanker Joe Worsley, kept England on course for Grand Slam glory.

But England's 17-point winning margin mocked most pre-match predictions that Wales would suffer a Millennium Stadium mauling.

And it left Woodward condemning any suggestion that the northern hemisphere's premier international competition should be revamped as a two-tier event due to the recent domination of England, France and Ireland.

"The mutterings have come from one or two people, and we all get dragged into that," Woodward said.

"I can think of nothing worse for the Six Nations than for it to become two-tier.

"It should remain exactly as it is now. The Welsh team should be applauded it was a tremendous effort from them," Woodward added. "Wales showed a lot of passion, and I went into their dressing room afterwards and told them that."

Had centre Mark Taylor not inexplicably ignored a two-man overlap on the stroke of half time, then Wales would have breached England's defence and enjoyed an interval lead, but the gilt-edged chance went begging.

Ultimately though, England's greater organisation and some key individual displays notably by Greenwood and No 8 Lawrence Dallaglio ensured there would be no shock result.