SM
Watford vs. Leeds: 5 hrs 14 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Six Nations | Group Stage
Mar 8, 2020 at 3pm UK
 
Scotland
28-17
France
Maitland (41', 45'), McInally (64')
FT
Penaud (33'), Ollivon (76')

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend promises "more to come"

:Headline: Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend promises 'more to come': ID:392293: from db_amp
Mohamed Haouas' moment of madness swung the game in the hosts' favour at BT Murrayfield.

Gregor Townsend declared there is more to come from Scotland after seeing his side put the brakes on France's Grand Slam quest.

Having started their Guinness Six Nations campaign with defeats to Ireland and England, things have taken a turn for the better for the Scots after they followed up victory in Rome with an impressive 28-17 triumph over Les Bleus in Edinburgh on Sunday.

Fabien Galthie's new-look outfit took the lead against the run of play thanks to Damian Penaud's try.

But Mohamed Haouas' moment of madness swung the game back in the Scots' favour, the prop red-carded for landing a punch on Jamie Ritchie's chin.

Sean Maitland dotted down twice for Scotland against France (Jane Barlow/PA)

Townsend's men have struggled to make the most of their attacking opportunities this campaign but, with just 14 men to contend with, they finally found their verve.

Sean Maitland crossed in the minutes either side of half-time before Stuart McInally sealed a precious win that ended the visitors' hopes of a first clean sweep since 2010.

Now the Scotland boss is predicting more of the same when his side travel south for next Saturday's game in Wales.

"I've been really encouraged right the way through the campaign," Townsend said. "The two weeks before the Ireland game was shown in the way we played, how physical we were and how we were able to play at a real pace and create opportunities.

“You get confidence when you see the rewards you get for doing something, and the way we're training, it really gives me a lot of encouragement.”
- Gregor Townsend

"Yeah, we didn't win and left a couple of tries out there, but we've been consistent throughout. Even the England game, we were proud of how we came back in that second half.

"We have been in the fight in those two defeats. But these two wins showed the mentality and confidence to get out and find a way to win.

"And there's more to come, more defensively even though we're doing that area well.

"You get confidence when you see the rewards you get for doing something, and the way we're training, it really gives me a lot of encouragement."

The sending-off was a turning point but Scotland had been on top from the start.

Adam Hastings continues to grow at stand-off in Finn Russell's absence, Hamish Watson and Ritchie made themselves a menace with their breakdown skulduggery while new skipper Stuart Hogg looks more and more comfortable with the captaincy as the weeks go by.

And Townsend reckons it would be harsh on his team to see their performance diminished by too much focus on Haouas' act of folly.

He said: "Obviously (the red card) is important but I thought we played better in the first half than the second half.

"We had France on the back foot and we turned them over nine times in the first half in the way we defended, and we had opportunities getting in behind them.

"Sometimes a red card can really help you, but I felt France coped with being one man down. It gave them a bit of a kick-start to play more rugby to try and win.

Townsend is hoping Scotland can finish their Six Nations campaign on a high (Jane Barlow/PA)

"They're a very dangerous team when they're offloading and counter-attacking. Who knows? If you have a one-man advantage it's better than having the same numbers but I thought we played really well when it was 15 against 15."

Scotland will now aim to make it three wins on the trot at the Principality Stadium – and Townsend hopes the coronavirus will not throw a spanner in the works.

England's trip to Italy has already been called off amid fears over the outbreak but Townsend has heard nothing so far to suggest the Dark Blues' final game of the tournament is under threat.

"Six days, a lot can change," he said. "We'll see. We're not crossing any borders, we hope the game will go ahead because you put a lot of work into a championship to make sure you play all the games, but the decision will obviously be made for the right reasons."

amp_article__392293 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-03-08 20:00:54:
html db last update - 2021-03-01 20:04:20 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Gregor Townsend

Click here for more stories about France

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .