'Best of all time' - What France had to say about Scotland after Six Nations thriller in Paris

France coach Fabien Galthié paid tribute to ‘best Scottish side of all-time’ after the hosts were made to battle hard for their 32-21 win in Paris.

Scotland trailed 19-0 after a frantic opening 20 minutes that saw both sides reduced to 14 men with red cards shown to Grant Gilchrist and Mohamed Haouas.

Gregor Townsend's side scored the next three tries to reduce the deficit to four points at 25-21, but a late try from Gael Fickou earned the French a bonus point win while denying the Scots a losing bonus point.

"We had to sustain some difficult periods, during Scottish purple patches,” Galthié said. “When we had the ascendancy, we were not always rewarded. This is the best Scotland side of all time. They have brought back the Gray brothers, who are great players but have had off days, Hamish Watson, Jamie Ritchie, the Fagerson brothers, the wings, Hogg, Russell - who is on fire. They have just beaten two major teams with an attacking bonus point. They were full of confidence. It was necessary to manage that.”

Scotland scrum-half Finn Russell looks dejected after the 32-21 defeat to France in Paris. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

France defence coach Shaun Edwards also heaped praise on the Scotland performance. "They dominated territory and they dominated possession," he admitted. “They seemed to be attacking in our 22 for a lot of the game but that's what you expect from a top class team like Scotland.

"They've obviously got some very creative half-backs and some big powerful runners up front. We're very, very happy in the end to pull away, get the bonus point, and better for us, Scotland didn't get a bonus point."

Edwards felt the red cards had no major impact on the game given how quickly they followed each other. "Not that much really," the former Wasps coach surmised. "Playing against 14 at first is obviously an advantage but it was quickly levelled up. It didn't really affect both teams’ game plans that much."

Edwards did pinpoint where France improved following their defeat to Ireland in Dublin a fornight ago.

France defence coach Shaun Edwards admitted Scotland dominated territory and possession. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

"I thought our kicking game was better than last week. A big improvement. Last week we were playing like seven-a-side rugby in our own half. This week we were a lot more disciplined in our kicking game and that definitely helped us."