Fabien Galthie given food for thought after France defeat by Scotland as Brice Dulin laments loss

Scotland's Hamish Watson and France's Brice Dulin during the match at Murrayfield.

France head coach Fabien Galthie says him and his players have been given plenty of food for thought following their 25-21 defeat by Scotland at Murrayfield.

Galthie picked a largely second-string team for their opening World Cup warm-up match of the summer, with three debuts handed to Paul Boudehent, Emilien Gailleton and Louis Bielle-Biarrey, with Antoine Dupont, Gael Fickou and Romain Ntamack among a raft of established players given the weekend off. They looked on course for a comfortable victory after leading 21-3 at the interval, only for Scotland to score 22 unanswered points despite playing nearly 30 minutes with 14 men following the red card for Zander Fagerson.

Even though a large number of players who started in Edinburgh are unlikely to be selected when France kick off their hosting of the World Cup against the New Zealand, Galthie said there was plenty to take from the defeat. "We think that everything is important," said Galthie. "When you play a match like that, you look at it as a competitive exercise. It was a difficult match here at Murrayfield against Scotland, so the coaches and the players will analyse it. It will be interesting to go over everything for us the staff and the players. Coming to Murrayfield is a good experience ahead of the World Cup.

France captain Brice Dulin lamented not holding on to their lead. "We had opportunities in the second half so it is a shame we did not win,” said Dulin. “We suffered, both in attack in defence, and we tired. There are things we can improve upon. We are frustrated.”

France have three further warm-up matches, against Scotland next weekend before facing Fiji and Australia.