Scotland fightback falls just short against France

Scotland staged another stirring fightback against France before being edged out by a late penalty from Thomas Ramos on an intoxicating Saturday night in the Saint-Etienne heat.

Gregor Townsend's side - who overturned a 21-3 deficit to beat Les Bleus at Murrayfield a week previously - trailed 27-10 going into the final quarter inside the raucous Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

The Scots roared back to level the match at 27-27 and would have gone ahead if Finn Russell had managed to convert Kyle Steyn's second try of the match in the 72nd minute.

However, their hopes of only a second victory on French soil this century were dashed when Ramos's reliable boot made it 30-27 with just two minutes remaining.

Scotland made six changes to the side that started last weekend's 25-21 win over France at Murrayfield, two of which were enforced with the suspended Zander Fagerson and the injured Ben White dropping out.

Captain Jamie Ritchie returned after being troubled by a minor calf issue in recent weeks.

After fielding a shadow side in Edinburgh last weekend, Les Bleus made 13 changes, restoring big-hitters like captain Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack, Gael Fickou and Jonathan Danty.

In addition to facing the side ranked second in the world, the Scots also had to contend with 26 degree heat as they emerged from the tunnel to a buoyant home support clearly revelling in the prospect of hosting the World Cup, which gets under way in less than four weeks.

The Scots - who were 19-0 down after 20 minutes on their last trip to France in February - could easily have wilted in the cauldron but they set about taking the sting out of the atmosphere by getting themselves into French territory from kick-off.

Following a sustained period of pressure, the