Losing to Scotland would be humiliating, says France coach

Defeat by Scotland in the Six Nations at the Stade de France on Saturday would be a "humiliation" for France, coach Marc Lievremont said.

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MARCOUSSIS, France // Defeat by Scotland in the Six Nations at the Stade de France on Saturday would be a "humiliation" for France, coach Marc Lievremont said on Thursday. France lost their tournament opener 30-21 to Ireland at Croke Park on Saturday but have not been beaten by Scotland since 1999. "A home game against Scotland can be a trap game because Scotland have not been a team to be scared of for several years and because our players need sometimes to fear and respect their opponents," Lievremont said.

"It would be a big mistake to underestimate the Scots because if their recent results have been poor they have kept a good attitude. They have some highly skilled players and they are the least penalized team in the world," he added. "Last weekend, they were literally blown away by Wales but the Welsh are at the height of their talent. If there are gaps in our game we are in for a big disappointment. We must be careful because a defeat to Scotland at the Stade de France would be true humiliation."

France's Six Nations squad cancelled a visit to the Moulin Rouge cabaret this week in a statement of intent that they will atone for last weekend's loss. "We had planned to spend Wednesday evening at the Moulin Rouge. The booking had been done," Lievremont added. "On Sunday, we told the leaders of the team that we were ready to keep the evening out despite Saturday's defeat. They decided to stay in our training camp."

Lievremont said defeat in Dublin had been "a painful day" because despite high expectations, there was a feeling the French had given the game away through indiscipline and lack of combativeness. *Reuters