Gregor Townsend believes Scotland will only get better after they ended France’s Grand Slam bid with a fine 28-17 victory at BT Murrayfield.
Sean Maitland crossed for two tries and Stuart McInally came off the bench to get a third as Scotland took full advantage of Mohamed Haouas’ red card.
Scotland started the Championship with narrow defeats to Ireland and England before they rebounded with a 17-0 victory against Italy in Round 3.
And Townsend is delighted with the consistency they have shown and expects them to up it again against Wales in Round 5.
“It is a performance we have displayed in every game,” he said.
“We have been consistent, we have defended well and been tough to play against. The game against England was a different type of rugby because of the conditions.
“But we have been tough to beat, we have learned and improved as group and the energy and physicality was great.
“We have been in the fight and we showed a great mentality and confidence to go out and win a couple of games after that tough start.
“There is more to come. There is more to come defensively. It’s nice like see the rewards you get for the work you are putting in and the way we are training is giving me confidence.”
The turning point of the match came just before half-time when Haouas was sent off for punching Scotland’s Jamie Ritchie.
That came just minutes after Les Bleus had taken the lead for the first time, with Antoine Dupont’s perfect kick finding Damian Penaud in the corner.
That put them 7-6 up after a pair of Adam Hastings’ penalties but Scotland responded after Haouas’ red card, with Hastings’ third penalty and Maitland’s first try.
Before Penaud’s try, Scotland stifled France and Townsend believes they played better against 15 men in the first half than the 14 they faced in the second.
“The red card was important but we played better in the first half,” he said.
“I felt we had France on the back foot. We turned them over nine times in the first half and had lots of opportunities to get in behind them.
“Sometimes a red card can help you and France coped. I think it gave them a kick-start. With us scoring points, they needed to play to win and they are dangerous when counter-attacking.
“We had a one-man advantage and it is better than having 15 v 15 but we played better in the first half. The weather was also a factor after half-time.”
