Scotland clawed back from an early deficit to bolster their World Cup confidence and beat France 17-14 Saturday at Murrayfield in Edinburgh.

It took just two minutes for France to get on the board. An intercept and a 50-meter scamper from winger Damian Penaud pushed the French to the early 7-0 lead. 

Scotland got on the scoresheet three minutes later, after winger Sean Maitland won a penalty for the Scots and Greg Laidlaw slotted the penalty to bring the score to 7-3.

Scotland came out much more aggressive this week than last week, and their big hits on defense had the Murrayfield crowd on its feet all half. However, another Scottish error led to a France score in the 27th minute. Finn Russell fumbled a high ball, and after a series of passes, center Sofiane Guitoune burst through the line and assisted Penaud for his second of the day; 14-3 France. 

But just on the stroke of halftime, Scotland found some momentum. A good scrum in the middle of the field put France under pressure, and Blair Kinghorn nabbed an interception of his own. He assisted his center Chris Harris, who got all the way down inside the five meter line. 

After a few patient phases, Russell lofted a beautiful ball over the top to Sean Maitland, who went in untouched. France up at halftime, but Scotland were in reach at 14-10.

Tight Second Half

The second half was mostly a stalemate, with Scotland making decent ground but France holding firm and keeping Scotland from scoring. 

Eventually though, in the 60th minute, Chris Harris blasted through the middle of the French defense, after a myriad of forward crashes had Scotland just meters from the line. Scotland now had their first lead over the course of both tests against the French. 

The remainder of the game was a kicking chess match, which ultimately Scotland was able to win. France had one final chance to attack on the final play of the game. They secured the lineout inside Scotland's half, but fumbled the ball at the back of the maul for a knock-on. 

Scotland held on 17-14.

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It was a big win for the Scots, ending a five-game winless run and providing some confidence moving forward. 

For France, they need to stay focused and stay on top of teams for 80 minutes. They had a chance to put Scotland to bed in the first half but they let them hang around too long.