Report: France 51-9 Scotland France v Scotland photos

Scotland captain Bryan Redpath has admitted his players need to vastly improve if they are to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

His side were overwhelmed 51-9 in a record defeat to France in Sydney, a result that means victory over Fiji is now imperative in their final Pool B match.

However, on this weekend's showing, Fiji pose a genuine threat to Scotland's chances.

Redpath acknowledged the players had let themselves down and urged them to show their real capabilities against Fiji.

He said: "We never made them kick into touch so we ended up giving possession away and they capitalised.

"You can't win a game of football with those mistakes. It was very disappointing in that respect.

"Everyone will have a take a look at themselves and see where they went wrong and build from there.

"There is one more game left. We can still qualify and have to put a performance together to qualify."

Scotland coach Ian McGeechan identified the closing stages of the first half, when France extended their lead from 6-3 to 19-6, as the period in which the game was won and lost.

"We started off well and were competitive but then they scored a couple of times and opened the gap," McGeechan said.

"We needed to score quickly after the break but we never really got control of the ball. They played at a higher tempo than us and scored some good tries."

Scotland play Fiji in Sydney on Saturday 1 November.