Bradbury: It was almost a case of too little, too late

However, he maintained last night there is sufficient quality in the squad to turn this campaign around in their last two matches.

The schedule could hardly look more imposing now as they prepare to play host to Grand Slam-chasing Wales before heading to Twickenham, seeking what would be a first Scottish win in England in 36 years.

However, the back-row forward, who made his return for Edinburgh only the previous weekend after a four-month lay-off as a result of a dislocated shoulder, is relishing the opportunity to play for country.

“It’s hard to go from a league game against the Dragons straight to Test rugby, and, personally, I love being out there, but I felt like we could have worked harder, both myself and as a team, in that first half, but I’m happy to be back and just want to kick on from here,” said Bradbury, who had made three previous international appearances.

“You saw in the second half how we can play when we are pulling the strings, and I firmly believe that if we had come out the blocks like that in the first half we’d have won the match.

"It was almost a case of too little too late, I think.

“We know we are a good enough team to win those games (against Wales and England). That’s the frustrating thing. We have a bit of a break now to work hard on the shortcomings we saw today and kick on towards two big challenges.”

While France were denied four tries after television replays were scrutinised, Bradbury claimed the players did not feel they had been fortunate not to have suffered a heavier beating than the 27-10 margin that saw France claim a bonus point deep in injury time.

“Everything is scrutinised and if it’s a bit dubious they’ll look at it and if it is a knock-on then that’s the margin.

"It is down to them to score those tries and they didn’t take them,” he said.

On the other side of that, having been brought back into the squad ahead of the Ireland match, before he was released to get match fitness playing in the Pro14, he reckoned he has seen enough to believe that minor tweaks can transform outcomes for the Scotland side.

“Being part of the squad after the Ireland match, we were there for 95 per cent and it was just that last 5% we fell off and they capitalised.

"That’s the margins of Test rugby, if you are not there for 100% of the game you are going to lose the game,” Bradbury continued.

He, meanwhile, denied that heads had gone down when France scored the try that took them into a two-score lead a minute into the second half, insisting it had, instead, galvanised the team.

“We talked at half-time about wanting to come out and start fresh and it was like that try kicked us into gear because you saw how we played after that," he said. "We made some good yards and it was just those final passes that didn’t stick. And credit to the subs as well. They came on and made a hell of an impact. It was just difficult.”

He consequently believes they will absorb the deep sense of disappointment felt last night and use it to drive their collective bid to improve their standing.

“Gregor says his bit and the coaches say their bit, but we mainly look to the leaders,” said Bradbury.

“It is difficult to put into words how it feels after a game like that, but we try to look at… it’s hard to say.

“We just try to stick together and we know we will take it on the chin whatever happens on Monday. If we are called out for individual mistakes then we’ll take that as it comes.”