A record-breaking game in Edinburgh saw Darcy Graham become Scotland’s highest try scorer, both sides crack 40 points for the first time in Six Nations history, and Gregor Townsend’s men keep their title dreams alive heading to Dublin.
There was entertainment across the board in Round 4 of this year’s Six Nations, but perhaps no fans witnessed a greater spectacle than those in Edinburgh as Scotland versus France became the first ever men’s Six Nations game to see both sides score 40+ points.
In fact, it was the first time that two Tier 1 nations have both scored 40+ points in any Test since Australia vs England in 2016 (40-44).
Scotland started as they meant to go on, with Darcy Graham opening the scoring after just four minutes and 40 seconds – the fastest try scored against France in the Six Nations since Rory Best for Ireland in 2019 (2:20).
That try, and his second just before the hour mark, saw him overtake Duhan van der Merwe (35) as Scotland’s all-time leading try scorer in men’s rugby (37).
Speaking of records, Louis Bielle-Biarrey extended what was already the longest scoring run in Championship history to nine games, overtaking Gael Fickou (13) as France’s second-top try scorer in the Six Nations era (14 – Damian Penaud leads with 17).
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46 minutes ago Nick BentleyScotland’s ability to retain the ball at key stages was crucial to their attacking output. They conceded the fewest turnovers of any side at the weekend (9) and retained possession from all 127 of their attacking rucks.
Despite Scotland’s refusal to give up the ball, France were still the only side to score multiple tries from possession starting with a turnover win at the weekend, taking full advantage of the few counter-attacking opportunities presented to them.
The second of those try-resulting turnovers occurred just outside France’s defensive 22, and they’ve made a habit of scoring from distance this year. Les Bleus’ average of 45.5 metres gained per try-scoring phase is over 10 metres more than the next highest rate.
Perhaps, though, it begs the question: how well can France attack against defences that make them go through phases? They are electric from distance where there are more gaps in the defensive line and they have support runners to punish teams. They’re incredible in transition too, scoring 11 tries after fielding a kick or winning a turnover – no one else has scored more than three such tries.
However, in Scotland they came up against a team with the best tackle success rate in this year’s Six Nations (89%), with Gregor Townsend’s side also allowing their opponents fewer offloads than any other nation (18) – a combination France found difficult to break down until the game was well and truly out of sight.
That’s not to say Scotland weren’t just as efficient. Despite France actually recording more attacking 22 entries than Gregor Townsend’s side (12 to 9), Scotland failed to score a try from just two of their red-zone entries. Their average return of 5.6 points was the highest of any team to make more than three entries in a men’s Six Nations match across the last five editions.
As we predicted in our pre-match preview, the kicking battle was crucial. Scotland boasted the highest retention rate of any side in Round 4 (23%), while France recorded the lowest (10%) – their kick-chase game not at the high standards they’ve reached so far this Championship, and ultimately costly.
Les Bleus still go into the final round with the Six Nations title in their hands, while Scotland travel to Dublin with the Triple Crown – and possibly the Championship – in their sights for the first time in the Six Nations era.
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Mayhem in Murrayfield: How Scotland Kept Six Nations Title Hopes Alive in Record-Breaking Thriller Opta Analyst.
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