THE chance was there. It would be a stretch to say that Scotland should have won a brutally punitive RBS 6 Nations encounter with Paris in France yesterday, but they could have won, and perhaps on another day would have won for the first time this century in France.

In the end, however, they came away from the Stade de France with no more than a losing bonus point to show for all their efforts. Or, to be more precise, a losing bonus point and a heap of injuries to key players.

Greig Laidlaw was the first to go after 25 minutes, and more about the extent of his injury should be revealed today. John Barclay, who took over from the scrum-half as captain, did not last until half-time before his match was ended by injury, too. And then John Hardie, who replaced Barclay, was added to the list of walking wounded early in the second half.

Given those losses, Scotland should be commended for having contested the match right until the end, when a full score would have given them victory. And they might well have been closer to the French during those final phases anyway, or even preserving a lead, but for a bizarre conversion miss by Finn Russell with his team 16-13 ahead.

There was no confirmation from the visiting camp of suggestions that the stand-off had been unduly rushed to take his kick by the referee, or that the ball had wobbled just prior to his making contact.

Apart from that apparently avoidable error, there were problems in the scrum, although the French pack, who did not tire as much as Scotland had hoped and planned, should take much of the credit for that.

France opened the scoring in the seventh minute through stand-off Camille Lopez after Josh Strauss had been penalised for not releasing, but Scotland, undaunted, slowly imposed themselves. A patient drive through the middle set up good position and pulled defenders out of position, allowing Huw Jones to break on the right and put Stuart Hogg in for his third try in two games.

Laidlaw’s conversion attempt came back off the crossbar, and minutes later the captain was replaced after taking a knock, by which time a second Lopez penalty had restored the home lead. Ali Price had no sooner come off the bench than he was penalised for pushing Lopez off the ball, but the stand-off’s penalty also hit the woodwork.

France’s offloading game was a constant threat, and although, if anything, they were too eager to keep the ball alive in the tackle, the tactic paid off after half an hour when Gael Fickou finished off a multi-phase move on the right. Lopez was on target this time, taking the score to 13-5, but Russell soon lopped six points off the home team’s lead with a pair of penalties.

Given the amount of attacking ball France had had, and the amount of effort they had expended, a two-point deficit at the break was by no means discouraging for Scotland.

The picture got brighter still when Tim Swinson was up in support to finish off a Tommy Seymour break. The winger had collected a pass from Russell, chipped ahead, and then beaten France full-back Scott Spedding to the bouncing ball before passing inside to his Glasgow team-mate.

Inexplicably, Russell snatched at the conversion from right in front of the posts, sending it below the bar to pass up a simple chance for two more points. That rash act meant that Lopez was able to equalise at 16-16 with his third penalty of the day, although Spedding was unable to restore France’s lead a few minutes later with a long-range penalty. Hogg was also off target with a penalty from a few metres inside his own half, and so as the final quarter began the teams were still locked at 16-16.

Tighthead Simon Berghan came on to make his debut as Scotland used up their bench. In the end, all eight substitutes would appear, although Mark Bennett was only on briefly while Alex Dunbar received treatment. With 15 minutes left, the French sent a kickable penalty to touch, and from the ensuing drive came within less than a metre of the Scots line. Awarded a penalty in front of the posts, they opted for the scrum, but from the next attack Remi Lamerat knocked on just before touching down.

Inside the final 10 minutes, France were awarded another penalty in Scottish territory, and this time Lopez was on target. The three-point lead was soon doubled after a line-out offence, and with under four minutes to play France were all but home and dry.

Scotland, needing a full score to win, had time for another couple of attacks, but were twice dispossessed. On the second occasion, France regrouped and ran the clock down by trundling through a few rucks. They had done just enough.