Five penalties from French fly-half Camille Lopez, 25, dispatched Scotland to their nine consecutive opening day defeat in the Six Nations. The Thistle arrived at the Stade de France highly motivated. They pushed the French very hard but they conceded too many penalties along the way, which were all converted by the Les Tricolores' fly-half Camille Lopez. Dougie Fife, 24, was the game's only try scorer for the Scots.
The Les Bleus went into the game highly motivated too, as this was their first international game since the recent tragic terrorist attacks in Paris, and singing the French national anthem was quite emotional for most of the players.
Lopez scored his first penalty for Les Bleus only two minutes into the game to put the home side into a three-point lead. The Thistle skipper Greig Laidlaw, 29, and Lopez then traded penalties in soon afterwards, during a period of high intensity and vicious defending. Lopez, added his third penalty to stretch France's lead to 9 - 3, but Scotland hit back with the game's only try right on half-time. The first half finished by France leading 9 - 8, which was the closest the Scots had come to the French.
At the start of the second half it was the visitors who had Les Bleus on the back foot as they exerted some pressure through Russell, Dunbar and Hogg, who found gaps in the home-defence.
However, the French put some high quality defending close to the try-line that kept the Scots at bay and without points. The Les Blues regained the initiative and Lopez excellent kicking display saw them home.
It looked that the game lost focus in the closing stages, with the Scots chasing the score they desperately needed.
They have showed some signs of progression since last autumn, with the arrival of New Zealander Vern Cotter as their head coach, under whom they managed to defeat Argentina and Tonga and narrowly lose to world champions New Zealand. But they will be now left with the bitter aftertaste of another Six Nations' opening day defeat.
