Brouzet strides forward.

By Duncan Bech, PA Sport

Scotland's battered pride was dealt another blow at the Stade de France on Sunday afternoon as Ian McGeechan's men collapsed to their second heavy RBS 6 Nations Championship defeat in succession.

Memories of last weekend's record drubbing by the Irish came flooding back as the Scots' shortcomings in attack were ruthlessly exposed once again, this time by a French side which never quite hit top gear.

Brendan Laney, given the nod ahead of Gordon Ross at fly--half, gave his side more options in attack but the lack of firepower outside him ensured the Scots never created any real momentum.

The performance was a sad way for skipper Bryan Redpath to mark his 50th cap but his team had no answer to France's power up front or their incisive play behind the scrum.

French fly-half Francois Gelez, handed the number 10 shirt after Gerard Merceron's below-par effort against England last weekend, fully justified his inclusion in the side with a towering display.

Winning only his sixth cap, the Agen playmaker showed an assured touch and rarely took the wrong option, capping his afternoon's work with a 18-point haul courtesy of a near-flawless kicking display.

Fabien Pelous, Clement Poitrenaud, Damien Traille and Aurelien Rougerie all touched down for tries but the real hero of the day was number eight Imanol Harinordoquy who led France's domination up front.

The Pau forward, his side's most effective ball carrier, was always in the thick of the action and he had a hand in France's first points of the afternoon.

He secured quick ball at a line-out deep in Scotland's half which was fed to the onrushing Traille.

The Pau centre made good ground up the middle of the pitch, forcing Scotland to infringe in front of their own posts and Gelez made no mistake with his kick.

A long-range penalty in the fifth minute drew Scotland level but the visitors were back under pressure shortly after when Vincent Clerc was put into space down the left only for Kenny Logan, covering from the opposite wing, to pull off a try-saving tackle.

France won the ensuing line-out however and began a powerful forward drive which saw second row Pelous driven over in the corner. Gelez missed the conversion but made amends soon after with a penalty.

A promising French break was then cut short by a high tackle on Gelez, who gratefully accepted the ensuing penalty opportunity before adding another three points in first-half injury time.

The second period was barely a minute old when France grabbed their second try of the afternoon - Clerc made the initial inroads before feeding Xavier Garbajosa whose final pass found Poitrenaud for a try in the corner.

Gelez slotted the conversion but his side were soon on the back foot when the Scots launched a rare foray into enemy territory.

But the hapless visitors could make little use of a five-metre scrum as their backline move descended into a series of errors, letting France off the hook.

They fashioned a fine opportunity in the 50th minute but centre Kevin Utterson chose to go it alone when he had a clear overlap on his left, bringing back memories of a similar mistake by Laney against the Irish last Sunday.

France went further ahead in the 60th minute through Traille, who scooped up a loose ball at the back of a ruck before ghosting over under the posts for a try which Gelez improved.

The match began to fade out in the last quarter as the flow was disrupted by a series of errors from both sides.

Scotland went close to scoring in the 70th minute though when a neat crossfield chip from Gregor Townsend found Utterson but he knocked on with the line begging.

There was time for one final try however and inevitably it came from the French as Rougerie collected a towering bomb before touching down, with Gelez's conversion completing a miserable afternoon for the Scots.

Teams

France: Poitrenaud, Rougerie, Garbajosa, Traille, Clerc, Gelez, Galthie, Crenca, Ibanez, Marconnet, Pelous, Brouzet, Betsen, Magne, Harinordoqui.

Replacements: Castaignede for Clerc (67), Yachvili for Galthie (73), Rue for Ibanez (79), Auradou for Marconnet (66), Califano for Brouzet (66), Chabal for Harinordoqui (73).

Not Used: Merceron.

Tries: Pelous, Poitrenaud, Traille, Rougerie.

Cons: Gelez 3.

Pens: Gelez 4.

Scotland: G. Metcalfe, Paterson, Townsend, Utterson, Logan, Laney, Redpath, T. Smith, Bulloch, Douglas, Murray, Grimes, Leslie, Mower, Taylor.

Replacements: Craig for Laney (62), Blair for Redpath (77), G. Kerr for Douglas (63), White for Murray (53).

Not Used: Scott, Petrie, G. Ross.

Pens: Paterson.

Att: 78,692

Ref: Peter Marshall (Australia).