France kept their Six Nations title hopes alive with a thrilling victory over a spirited Scotland at Murrayfield, their eighth in a row in the fixture.

Scotland led 14-9 at half-time, full-back
Stuart Hogg touching down after a hopeful
high kick and wing Tommy Seymour crossing
for the hosts.
France wing Yoann Huget scored an
interception try after an ill-advised miss-pass
by Duncan Weir, but Weir regained the lead for
Scotland with a penalty.
Scott Johnston's side looked to have done
enough to secure a deserved victory, only for
replacement scrum-half Jean-Marc Doussain
to win it with a last-gasp penalty.
It was a bitter outcome for Scotland, who
showed great spirit and no little skill, in stark
contrast to their chastening defeat by England
at Murrayfield last month.
France host Ireland next Saturday with the
sides level on six points. The winner of the
match between England and Wales on Sunday
will also go into the final weekend with six
points.
Philippe Saint-Andre made seven changes to
the France side humbled by Wales a fortnight
ago, but only three of them because of
injuries.

With number eight Louis Picamoles having
been dropped, France had an entirely new
back-row of Sebastien Vahaamahina,
Alexandre Lapandry and Damien Chouly, with
the last two making their first starts in the Six
Nations.
Wing Maxime Medard, centre Maxime Mermoz
and scrum-half Maxime Machenaud were also
included in the starting XV, and it was the
unfamiliar visiting outfit that made the
brighter start.
Racing Metro's Machenaud, in for Toulouse
number nine Doussain, kicked the first points
of the game after Scotland collapsed a scrum.
France have been criticised for their lack of
attacking ambition in this year's Six Nations
but they almost scored from a sweeping move
after 10 minutes.
Scotland hooker Scott Lawson spilled the ball
inside the French half, full-back Brice Dulin
sent the ball down the line and Toulouse flyer
Huget very nearly beat his man on the
outside.
Huget managed to feed the ball inside to
Maxime Mermoz before Mathieu Bastareaud
bulldozed his way to within a few metres of
the Scotland line. However, France had to
make do with a penalty from Machenaud after
an infringement at the breakdown.
But Scotland hit back almost immediately with
their first home try for four matches, full-back
Hogg sending up a hopeful high kick and
touching down the loose ball.
France quickly regained the lead through
another Machenaud three-pointer after
Mermoz was brought down just short of the
try-line.
But Scotland hit back again, scoring their
second try of the game after a beautifully
crafted move straight from the training
ground.
The ball was shipped to Matt Scott and the
Edinburgh centre slipped the ball inside to
Glasgow wing Seymour, who raced clear to
touch down unopposed after a suspected
block on Jules Plisson.
Scotland, seemingly buoyed by the last-ditch
victory over Italy in Rome a fortnight ago, led
14-9 at half-time after an encouraging first 40
minutes.
Scotland's back-row, the make-up of which
had attracted much criticism, was particularly
impressive, with recalled captain Kelly Brown
providing much-needed leadership and
number eight David Denton seemingly
everywhere.
Meanwhile, France's line-out was atrocious
before the break, with Brice Mach, in for the
injured Dimitri Szarzewski, losing six throws.
The hosts started the second half brightly, but
when Weir attempted to find Alex Dunbar with
an unnecessary miss-pass inside the French
22, Huget was alive to the threat and
intercepted before galloping the length of the
field to score. Machenaud slotted the
conversion to give France the lead.
Greig Laidlaw came up short with a long-
range penalty kick that would have given
Scotland the lead, but Weir was on target a
couple of minutes later.
With France's scrum having gone the same
way as their line-out in the second half, their
three-quarters were unable to create much,
and Scotland looked to have done enough to
secure the victory as they snuffed out
France's infrequent attacks with the minimum
of fuss.
However, after a Weir penalty drifted wide
after 75 minutes, Doussain secured the victory
for the visitors with a minute remaining,
replacement lock Tim Swinson having been
penalised at the breakdown.
Scotland: S. Hogg, T Seymour, A Dunbar, M
Scott, S Lamont, D Weir, G Laidlaw; R Grant, S
Lawson, G Cross, R Gray, J Hamilton, J
Beattie, K Brown (captain), D Denton
Replacements: Wilson for Beattie (17), Evans
for Lamont (29), Ford for Lawson (51),
Swinson for Hamilton (68)
France: B Dulin, Y Huget, M Bastareaud, M
Mermoz, M Medard, J Plisson, M Machenaud;
T Domingo, B Mach, 3-N Mas, P Pape
(captain), Y Maestri, S Vahaamahina, A
Lapandry, D Chouly
Replacements: Tales for Plisson (46), Guirado
for Mach (47), Flanquart for Maestri (59),
Slimani for Mas (59), Claassen for
Vahaamahina (66), Fickou for Bastareaud
(68), Debaty for Domingo (68), Doussain for
Machenaud (74)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Touch judges: George Clancy (Ireland) & JP
Doyle (England)
TV: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)

Source: BBC SPORTS