France make winning start to Six Nations

By Alan Lorimer

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - France made a positive start to the defence of their Six Nations title with a 27-6 win over Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Man of the match Vincent Clerc scored two tries and fellow winger Julien Malzieu added a third.

Scrum half Jean-Baptiste Elissalde converted all three and France also benefited from the goal kicking of centre Damien Traille who landed two penalties.

It was an impressive performance from a new-look France side which dominated the back row battle and moved the ball much more effectively behind the scrum to deliver coach Marc Lievremont victory in his first match in charge.

"The team spirit held out right to the end. I was very pleased with the scoreline but I was not surprised that we managed to control so much of the game," former France flanker Lievremont told reporters

"Overall I was delighted with the performance even there were a few things that didn't click.

"I stressed to my players that it was important not to give away any possession but above all I encouraged them to be confident. I'm aware of the quality in this group and I think we can play all styles of rugby," he added.

Scotland got off to a nervous start when Dan Parks put the ball straight into touch from the kickoff but the Glasgow flyhalf atoned three minutes later with a drop goal.