Laidlaw and Cotter laud fine win over France

Scotland recorded a fine three-try win against France in front of a delirious crowd at BT Murrayfield in the penultimate match of the 2016 RBS 6 Nations.Despite going behind early on, Scotland fought back and led for the majority of the game, showing skill and passion to push them over the line, winning 29-18.After the match, Vern Cotter and Greig Laidlaw spoke of their delight after their first win over France since 2006.Cotter said: “The players worked hard and I’m pleased they got the result.There was a lot of energy on the pitch and a lot of that came from the supporters.”10 years has been a while (since the last win against France) but the players were focussed the whole way through to get us over the line.”We lost our playmaker (Finn Russell) early on and they scored a try, but we came back and showed composure to come away with the victory.”I think our defence was great but we can improve on it. Character wise, there were some great performances out there.”Stuart Hogg was named as Man of the Match after he scored the first try of the afternoon before producing a mesmerising piece of skill to set up Tim Visser’s score.He said: “Stuart really stepped up when Finn had to come off. His offload showed great initiative.”On his 50th cap, Greig Laidlaw reflected on the monumental victory. “France tried to steamroller us but I thought we fronted up and finished strongly.”We defended well at times and put away three tries which was a great bonus.Hoggy’s try was a team effort, Duncan Taylor showed a bit of brilliance and Visser’s score was a little bit speculative but we went over in the corner which was pleasing.The win means England have won the RBS 6 Nations and next week Scotland take on Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.Reflecting on the tournament thus far, he said: “Against England we were disappointed but against Wales we did well against a talented outfit and only lost by four points.”We’re not happy just winning two games, we want to win three and go to Ireland and get a victory.”To get three wins in a row would be a massive achievement.To take on Ireland on their home patch is a big challenge for us but we’ll be putting our best foot forward and going there with confidence.”