Scots handed French lesson

France centre Mathieu Bastareaud scored his first tries in international rugby as Les Bleus recorded an 18-9 victory over Scotland at Murrayfield.

The powerful No.13 justified his selection with two well-taken scores in the first half, as France ensured Andy Robinson's opening RBS Six Nations match as Scotland head coach ended in defeat.

The Stade Francais powerhouse opened his account on 15 minutes after persistent pressure near the Scotland line and all-but sealed the win with a superb burst six minutes from the interval.

Scotland fought gamely for a route back into the match, but only had three Chris Paterson penalties to show for their efforts.

The perennial strugglers have now not won their opening Six Nations game since they last beat France back in 2006.

Pressure

France were dealt an early blow when powerful wing Aurelien Rougerie was forced to leave the field after a nasty collision with Scotland No.8 Johnnie Beattie.

A Max Evans interception presented Scotland with their first foray towards the French line on eight minutes and although the hosts failed to force their way over the line, a penalty was awarded.

Kicker Paterson, playing his 99th match for Scotland, dispatched the penalty with ease as Scotland notched their first points of the Championship.

Heroic defending from Kelly Brown and Thom Evans prevented Vincert Clerc from hitting back almost instantly. The replacement wing looked destined to cross in the corner after latching onto Morgan Parra's deft grubber kick, but Brown's tap-tackle and Evans' strength prevented the Toulouse man from grounding the ball.

But Les Bleus did not have to wait long before they did score as Bastareaud crossed for his first try in French colours on 15 minutes.

After a concerted spell of pressure yards from the Scotland line, fly-half Francois Trinh-Duc fed Bastareaud and the powerful centre crashed over unopposed. Parra missed a difficult conversion attempt as France remained 5-3 ahead.

Scotland reacted well after the try, but they were almost the architects of their own downfall on 24 minutes when Trinh-Duc charged down Phil Godman's kick only to be held up inches from the try-line.

Flawless

Parra and Paterson exchanged penalties later in the half, however more magic from Bastareaud six minutes before the break put France in control.

With a wave of blue surging towards the Scotland line, number eight Imanol Harinordoquy delayed his pass to perfection and there was no stopping Bastareaud in full flow as he crashed over in the left corner. Parra's superb conversion put Les Bleus 15-6 ahead.

The visitors increased their lead five minutes after the interval when more ill-discipline allowed Parra to fire over his second penalty.

Les Bleus continued to dominate both possession and territory as the half wore on and Trinh-Duc missed a drop-goal attempt before Benjamin Fall rightly had a try chalked off.

But Paterson kept Scotland in the hunt on 53 minutes when he continued his flawless kicking display to reduce the deficit to 18-9.

Parra was off-target with a makeable penalty attempt just after the hour mark and as the clock ticked into the final 10 minutes, Scotland were running out of time as they searched for a route back into the match.

And, despite having plenty of possession in the French half as the match wore on, Scotland rarely threatened the opposition line as Les Bleus comfortably held on.

Scotland now turn their attention to a showdown with Wales at the Millennium Stadium on February 13, while France host defending champions Ireland on the same day.