Rugby: Donaldson: French counterparts 'mauled us to death'

Scotland club international coach Ally Donaldson was left ruing a poor spell by his players early in the second half after seeing them go down 30-18 against their French counterparts in Orleans last night.

The Currie supremo conceded that the French power up front had been a big factor in the result, saying, "they out-scrummed us and mauled us to death", before paying tribute to the efforts of his players by adding: "We lost 14 cheap points after half time then ran them off their feet.

"I thought the game was a lot closer than the score suggests."

There was also disappointment for Scotland's other sides in action last night, with the Under 20 side extending their unenviable record of never having posted a win against France when they went down 49-5 at Caen, while Scotland's women suffered an even bigger loss when they leaked eight tries on their way to a hefty 53-3 loss.