Scotland skipper Finn Russell showed his true colours by staying respectful after his team were controversially denied a late try against France. Scotland thought they had the ball on the ground after the clock ticked past the 80th minute.
Scotland were trailing 20-16 and the try would have meant they recorded a second successive victory. But the referee did not award the try and explained that there was not enough evidence of the ball touching the ground amid a huddle of bodies.
TMO checked every camera angle and was not able to prove that the ball was on the grass. Russell remained calm after the defeat, explaining that his team should have done more instead of relying on a late refereeing decision.
He said: “I think it was a tough second half. The whole game was an arm wrestle. France came out the winning side tonight, but for me that was a try at the end. That’s not for me to decide, that’s up to the referee. That’s why he has the job.
“We’ve got to take this defeat on the chin and get better for England. We can’t let the referee decide what happens in a game, that’s up to us to play better and make these matches a victory.
“The way we got back into the game, and the way I believe we scored shows the character we’ve got.
“I’m proud of the boys for that performance and we will learn from it. I think we will chill out tonight and next week. Some of the boys will be training, everyone needs some time away from rugby.
“It’s an intense competition and we’ll come back and be ready for the England game. It’s a different challenge from today but we need to be ready.”
Former Scotland hooker Fraser Brown was livid with the officials but felt some of the blame also had to lie with his nation’s players.
“Scotland should have won that. They weren’t clinical enough,” he told BBC Radio Scotland.
“France showed absolutely no desire to play any rugby in the second half but within two or three phases they’re in behind Scotland and have scored. The decision at the end is shocking in my opinion.”
