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Romain and Duhan the big injury concerns after Saint-Etienne clash

SPOTLIGHT: France flyhalf Romain Ntamack left the field with a suspected knee problem and Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe also suffered an injury as the World Cup hosts won 30-27 in a warm-up match in Saint-Etienne on Saturday.

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Ntamack, 24, was helped off the field after 55 minutes less than a month before the start of the World Cup after a collision with opposite number Finn Russell.

Van der Merwe also suffered an issue and was helped from the pitch by a team doctor with quarter of the game left.

Galthie said Ntamack suffered “a small hyperextension of the knee”.

“We preferred to replace him,” said Galthie.

“He was seen by the doctor, the physiotherapists and we will decide on Sunday if there needs to be additional examinations.”

Meanwhile, Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend was proud of the fight his team showed against a star-studded French side.

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“It showed a lot for the character and the competitiveness of the group,” he said. “They wanted to win that one, they did all they could to win it. Obviously we’re a bit disappointed that we didn’t do that.

“Even a draw would have been something that we could have taken a lot more positives out of, because we’re here to win. But there’s so much more to come from this team.

“We showed in the first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes that we can win ball, our set-piece can be strong, and also we can attack and score great tries. So our job is to put that together for more than 20- 30 minutes when we’re playing at our best, but also to do that for much longer.”

Additional reporting: PA

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