Alldritt insists frustrated France were not distracted by Grand Slam in defeat

Gregory Alldritt was left frustrated by France’s defeat to Scotland but insists Les Bleus did not get ahead of themselves in pursuit of a Six Nations Grand Slam.

A first-half red card for Mohamed Haouas proved France’s undoing as they surrendered their unbeaten record in this year’s competition at Murrayfield.

The visitors went down 28-17, having led through Damian Penaud when Haouas was dismissed for punching Jamie Ritchie in the face.

Sean Maitland subsequently scored either side of half-time, before Stuart McInally and Charles Ollivon traded late tries.

While French number eight Alldritt was disappointed to see the winning start come to an end, he was adamant there had been no talk of an undefeated campaign within the squad.

“There is a lot of frustration,” he told BBC Sport. “But before the game, we did not think about the Grand Slam.

“We knew we had a very tough game today, and it has been a very tough game.

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“Everybody was talking about the Grand Slam except us. We knew we had nothing to lose today. We are building a team and we will see next weekend against Ireland.”

Haouas’ red card was the obvious turning point, yet Alldritt suggested France still could have been better with 14 men.

“We cannot control everything during the game, but even with 14 on the field, we had to carry on,” he said. “We made too many mistakes today to win the game.”

Ritchie was on the receiving end of Haouas’ blow but was reluctant to criticise his opponent.

Asked what had happened between the players, he replied: “I don’t know. It’s international rugby, tempers get heated sometimes. It’s a physical game and sometimes stuff happens.”

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