Six Nations: Stuart Hogg thrilled with Scotland win over France
Sunday 13 March 2016 18:57, UK
Man of the match Stuart Hogg was delighted after Scotland ended a decade of failure with a 29-18 RBS 6 Nations victory over France that handed the title to England.
Les Bleus, who needed to win to keep their championship hopes alive, struck early through skipper Guilhem Guirado at Murrayfield.
But Hogg and Duncan Taylor hit back for the Dark Blues and while France managed a second score on the stroke of half-time from Gael Fickou, the Scots wrapped up victory with Tim Visser's try 13 minutes from time.
Hogg said: "The team couldn't wait to get that victory and you can see how much it means to us in front of our own fans which were unbelievable today. It just means so much to us.
"We've had good performances (against France) in the past but to make amends today is brilliant and we go to Ireland next week now.
"You don't get many opportunities in international rugby and I think the times that we've created those opportunities we've finished them off well.
"We've worked hard in training and it's great to see it paying off in the game."
Regarding his own try and his assist for Visser, Hogg added: "It was a wee bit of luck on Visser's try but we'll take it and - my try - I just finished off a good team move and I'm delighted for that victory and we'll move on now."
For captain Greig Laidlaw it was the 25th time he had led his team out and he was overwhelmed by the experience in front of a home crowd.
He said: "To lead this team here at Murrayfield is something that will stay with me forever.
"But it's not about individuals, we've spoken about that all weekend - the whole team and the whole crowd at Murrayfield were literally as one today. It was outstanding."
Laidlaw, who collected his 50th cap against France, added: "This is the reason why we throw on the jersey and make so many sacrifices.
"I thought we scored a couple of great tries in an amongst some very great defence.
"France put a lot of width on the game at times, sometimes we had to really scramble and we really fought for each other and kept France from the line a couple of times. We managed to kick the ball clear and I'm sure you saw what it
meant to us all."
Scotland head coach Vern Cotter was pleased with the result and admitted he was proud of his side.
He said: "I'm very proud of them and it was nice to get a win.
"The guys kept shape. They made up an early lead and I think we built the game well from there.
"The game was built piece by piece and - of course - we need a good scrum to do that. I think that the boys, even though they were under pressure at times, kept their heads up and made good decisions.
"They know their strengths and are getting to know them better and playing to them.
"Once again I think the set-piece was good and they showed some character. So they are some good ingredients if you want to get something from the game."
