France head coach Jacques Brunel was pleased with the offensive and defensive showing of his players as they eased to a 32-3 win over Scotland.
Veteran full-back Maxime Medard registered a pair of tries, his first for the national team for three years, as Jefferson Poirot captained the side for the first time in the absence of Guilhem Guirado.
Winger Alivereti Raka and flanker Francois Cros also made their debuts in the starting XV and Raka capped his full Test debut with a try in under two minutes.
Four more tries sealed a convincing win for Les Bleus.
“This meeting partly met expectations because we worked a lot at the physical level and we wanted to see how we digested it and whether we were able to show our qualities,” said Brunel.
“It was hard at first and we only scored a penalty but we have a good base in terms of our defensive qualities.
“The team was opportunistic, the boys scored five tries. We have been dominating, and overall we have shown some good dispositions both in offence and defence.
“We spent some time tweaking the settings. This match gives us benchmarks. It’s a good start.”
France face a rematch against Scotland next before tackling Italy on August 30.
“What’s more important to me is the commitment we made to each other,” said debutant skipper Poirot.
“It made my job easier when everybody got involved that way.
“The goal was to have a base and to be better every time. Next week will be an even tougher fight.
“Now we know that we will progress. We are not going to play the fine mouths, we need to win matches but humility is also important.”
