Scotland were 21-3 behind at half-time, but roared back to win 25-21 at Murrayfield. Photo: © INPHO 2021
Scotland mounted a stunning comeback with 14 men to beat a reserve France side 25-21 thanks to a glorious second half in a World Cup warm-up game in Murrayfield on Saturday.
The hosts, who were 21-3 down at halftime after being blown away by an electric French team and had Zander Fagerson sent off after the break, prevailed with tries by Darcy Graham, Pierre Schoeman and Dave Cherry as captain Finn Russell kicked 10 points.
France, in their first World Cup preparation game, scored through tries by stand-in scrumhalf Baptiste Couilloud, debutant Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Cameron Woki with the rest of the points coming from the boot of Mathieu Jalibert.
France and Scotland, who lost Ben White to a possible ankle injury, will meet again in St Etienne next Saturday.
"We had a very very good first half and in the second half we made a few errors while we did not convert a handful of opportunities. It's frustrating that we did not win," France captain Brice Dulin said.
While Greg Towsend picked a side who could start against South Africa in the World Cup on Sept. 10, Fabien Galthie fielded three debutants and notably rested scrumhalf Antoine Dupont and flyhalf Romain Ntamack with most of the team having not played for France in over a year.
Meanwhile, Wales coach Warren Gatland predicted "something special" from his side ahead of their warm-up against England, and they delivered a commanding second half performance to claim a 20-9 victory in Cardiff.
Wales overwhelmed England to give themselves a major pre-World Cup lift. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Gatland has seen his side struggle since he took over the reins for a second time in December last year and having selected an inexperienced match-day 23 he admitted he had some nerves.
"I was a little bit apprehensive this morning as I wasn't quite sure how things were going to go. I know the players have been working hard and I was looking for a performance and it was a good start today," he told Amazon Prime.
England led 9-6 at halftime but were denied more points despite numerous entries into the Wales 22, in part due to their own wastefulness in possession but also some excellent cover defence from Wales.
After the break the home side began to impose themselves and scored 14 unanswered points following tries by Gareth Davies and George North.
Ireland also got their World Cup preparations off to a mixed but nevertheless winning start on Saturday as some fringe players grasped the opportunity to impress coach Andy Farrell in a 33-17 victory over Italy at the Aviva Stadium.
The seeds of past Irish World Cup disappointment have often been sown with worrying warm-up form, and while the Six Nations Grand Slam winners were their relentless best in the first half, they took their foot off the gas in the second.
"Pretty disappointed with a few aspects of our game but you have a look at the scoreline and it's a good start for us," Farrell told RTE.
"Obviously could do better."
-REUTERS
Ireland began their three-match World Cup warm-up programme with a solid 33-17 victory over Italy in Dublin. Photo: Photosport