Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has vented his frustrations at the decision to keep France hooker Peato Mauvaka on the field after what appeared to be a headbutt. Les Bleus defeated Scotland 35-16 to secure the Six Nations title in Paris, and ultimately overwhelmed the Scots at Stade de France. However, there was a controversial moment in the first half that could have swung the tide of the game. France won the turnover, and while Mauvaka tried to gather the ball, scrum-half Ben White prevented him from doing so, resulting in a little scuffle and White being pushed over by Thomas Ramos. As White fell to the deck, French hooker Mauvaka launched himself from the floor and produced what looked like a flying headbutt directly to the head of White. Remarkably, despite a review between South African TMO Marius van der Westhuizen and referee Matthew Carley, the pair settled on a yellow card. Speaking to the press after the game, Townsend said: "Well, the decision not to raise it to a red card was because there was not excessive force. I’m not sure that’s really the criteria for a non-tackle incident. It clearly was a non-tackle incident, it was after the whistle. So, if there was head contact and that was intentional, it shouldn’t be anything to do with the force that was involved. "I feel sorry for Ben White here, because he did nothing. He was first of all pushed to the ground, and a push is nothing in rugby, and then he got collided in the head, so I don’t know how it wasn’t raised to a red card. But whether that has had anything to do with the final result, who knows, because France deserved the win, deserve to be champions, they’re a quality side. "Even though we played really well at times tonight, France were the better team in the end." Townsend continued: "It’s a difficult one because we lost the game and we weren’t pushing at the end to win the game, but what we asked for the players tonight was to deliver physically, and they did that "There’s a lot to be proud of and a lot to build on. Strangely, our two best performances this year were in defeats to England and to France, especially 80-minute performances, but we can take a lot from those two games as we look to next year and beyond when we have those challenges again." Speaking on ITV's broadcast of the game, former Scotland international Johnnie Beattie and Wales legend Dan Biggar couldn't believe it wasn't a straight red card. "Firstly, the petulance of Thomas Ramos to create the scenario in the first place, I don't like seeing that in rugby," began Beattie. "Ultimately, you can't be flying across the ground and head-butting people. We don't have a place for that in our sport. I think he's very lucky. I'd love to see a closer angle on the reverse. This does not look good. I think he's very lucky that hasn't been upgraded to a red." "I think he's very lucky because it's not a rugby incident, that," said Biggar. "That's the big difference in a high shot or high tackle you can get away with things like that. That's not a rugby incident to me. He's a very lucky boy." “I’m amazed that hasn’t been upgraded [to a red],” ex-Scotland international Rory Lawson added. “He is incredibly fortunate that his headbutting isn’t all that accurate because he lost his head, saw the red mist and he is fortunate to get away with that and be allowed back on the field.” “That should be a red for Mauvaka,” ex-England fly-half Andy Goode wrote on X. He later added: “So a flying head into the face of a player lying prone on the floor is just a yellow card?! Mauvaka should have seen a full red card for that, not even a 20-minute one. The bunker system has had a shocker.”