Gregor Townsend said it was "a big disappointment" not to get a positive result in France
Gregor Townsend believes his Scotland side can "take on any team" at the World Cup after they ran France close in Saint Etienne.
Scotland trailed a strong French side by 17 points after an hour, but roared back to be narrowly pipped 30-27.
It follows Scotland's 25-21 win over a weaker France at Murrayfield last week.
"We're fit enough, we've got the game and we've got the players to take on any team we come up against," said Townsend.
"This was a preparation for what is likely to happen in the World Cup: noisy atmospheres, powerful forwards, especially when we play South Africa, and hot conditions.
"Our players thrived in that environment. There were elements where we can improve and that will come, and it has come because we've seen improvement right throughout the season. Our belief has been shaken at times in games, but against France the belief was there. Whether it was as individuals or collectively, we knew we were coming back.
"It is a big disappointment that we didn't get anything out of that game whether it is a draw or a win."
The Scots faced a weaker France side at Murrayfield last weekend and found themselves 21-3 down at half-time, before scoring 22 unanswered points to seal a dramatic win.
It wasn't quite to be this time, despite second-half tries from Duhan van der Merwe, Rory Darge and a stunning score from Kyle Steyn that threatened to pull off another pre-World Cup miracle.
The worry for Townsend and his staff might be how his side started the second half at the Stade Geoffrey-Guichard. They trailed by just three points at the break but two quick tries saw the French stretch their lead.
"That's one way to look at it," said Townsend about that collapse after half-time. "The other way to look at it is these top teams are going to have their moments and they are going to score points.
"A lot of what happened in that five minutes after half-time was down to our errors, we were unable to gather a pass from the kick off and gave France some dominance in our 22.
"We'll look at all the game. I think we could have done more in the first 15-20 minutes when we were playing so well. There was some opportunities there that we could have taken with a bit more ambition and accuracy."
With 37 men currently in Scotland's training squad, Townsend will trim another four players before announcing his final World Cup squad on Wednesday.
