Are Scotland flattering to deceive? Or is this their level?

Scotland’s final Six Nations appearance in Paris, 35-16 defeat by champions France, was a painful familiarity, as it was their third straight defeat.

They had long periods of high pressure and were fierce, but a poor turn in the pressure, coupled with a sluggish third quarter against France’s enormous forward replacements, cost them dear.

After 42 minutes, they had a three-point lead, but after the final whistle, they had a 19-point deficit.

Consistently inconsistent has been a theme, with promising spells that haven’t been used for a full 80-minute display. This is not the first time.

Throughout the entire championship, decisions were made against Scotland. When France hooker Peato Mauvaka headbutted Ben White to earn a yellow card in Paris with a 10-0 lead, observers were taken aback.

In the end, the Scots went on to lose three games to Ireland, England, and France before failing to capitalize on the situation.

Head coach Gregor Townsend made no mistake when asked if Scotland deserved to finish in the top four.

No, we will finish where we started off the game if we don’t win when we dominate the remainder of the field,” he said.

France is currently serving as the benchmark. a vibrant grassroots scene, thriving youth organization, and thriving domestic league. From the circumstances in Scotland, things are night and day.

Former Scotland forward Johnnie Beattie remarked, “Look at our player participation numbers.” “There are hundreds of thousands of people in France, and there are about 20 000 of us.”

Scottish fans won’t want to hear that, but when you consider the numbers, that’s where we are.

Although we can disagree on the precise numbers, Beattie’s argument has an unmistakable thrust.

No more was the depth of play revealed than when France’s head coach Fabien Galthie turned his bench after 46 minutes of play in Paris.

Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille, Dorian Aldegheri, Emmanuel Meafou, Oscar Jegou, and Anthony Jelonch were all called in to turn the tables on the home side.

Gregory Alldritt, a world-class back-rower and France captain, was kicked out because he was capable. It was successful.

Townsend, in contrast, requested Zander Fagerson to play the full 80 minutes and left Will Hurd as his replacement.

Ewan Ashman is one of the first to be introduced, Ewan Johnson works with Oyonnax in France’s second tier, and Marshall Sykes is not a guaranteed starter for Edinburgh, who is plagued by line-out throwing issues.

When the Scottish replacements arrived, everything was left out, but they are now being asked to play alongside players of a different level.

Similar events occurred following Ireland’s defeat. At Murrayfield, Scotland were overthought and overmuscled.

Former Irish fly-half Ronan O’Gara wasn’t exaggerating when he claimed that it felt like a 40-point victory for Ireland that day.

Scotland are forced to play in a way that doesn’t encourage grinding out Test match victories after Test match victories due to this lack of depth.

Their strategy for Paris was well-defined. Keep the ball moving, take risks, play with pace and width, and get their talented backline as much as they can.

Former Scotland full-back Chris Paterson remarked, “We played with some fantastic endeavour and were quite sharp on the ball, but we couldn’t break through, get in behind, and really stress them.”

Scotland “played the right way,” giving ourselves the best chance by moving the ball as quickly as possible. Although it wasn’t always accurate, the approach is the right one.

Peter Wright, a former Scotland prop, said, “I was pretty proud of the way Scotland played.” They persevered, and attempted to win the match that had the potential to defeat France.

They moved the ball, played with width, and had a go. One of his best games was played by [Blair] Kinghorn. Both [Duhan van der Merwe and [Darcy] Graham appeared to be dangerous.

Finn] Russell will face a lot of criticism for some things, but I thought he played well and gave Scotland a chance. He tried to hurt the French by altering the game too much.

Because this Scotland team can’t play the percentages, Townsend’s side were not focused on using a strong set-piece.

They have incredible moments in their games, plays that leave you speechless, but they rarely deliver due to the high-risk strategy they use throughout the duration of a match, let alone for several matches spread across the championship.

They were excellent in the opening half at Stade de France, but their legs became sluggish and mistakes were made.

In this tournament, Townsend’s men defeated Italy and the worst Welsh team in a generation. That is it.

Wright probably captured it best in one word.