A hit-and-miss seven-week campaign for the Scots came to a dramatic conclusion in Paris on Saturday when they were beaten 46-19 by France, a result which secured Les Bleus the title on points difference.

It was another game where Frank Hadden's men showed, in patches, they can be a force to be reckoned with.

But they only registered one win in the tournament - a 21-9 home success against Wales in the second round of fixtures - and the Scots know it could have been much, much better.

They famously lost at home to Italy, but only after conceding three soft tries in a crazy six-minute spell at the start of the game.

It needed a late penalty by Ronan O'Gara to seal a narrow 19-18 win for Ireland at Murrayfield last week.

And Scotland also had their moments in their heavy defeats to England at Twickenham and finally the French.

Lamont insists his team-mates can hold their heads up high, and has genuine cause for optimism.

We never give up - we always keep plugging away, he said.

There was a determination back in January and we had that throughout the whole tournament.

We were on the losing side at times, but this determination should help us get back to where we want to be next time round.

Lamont was one of three try-scorers for the Scots in their Stade de France beating, Nikki Walker and Euan Murray grabbing the others.

But it was a rather bittersweet afternoon in the French capital for the winger.

Midway through the second half, he was sent for 10 minutes in the sin-bin after he was adjudged to have committed a late tackle on France centre David Marty.

Lamont trudged off with a bemused look on his face - and with good reason.
For it was not the bleach-blond Northampton winger who had committed the offence, it was his brown-haired brother, Rory.

They got it a bit wrong, Sean Lamont said. I've got blond hair, my brother's got dark hair!

But never mind. It's one of those things. It happens, they've got to make a decision at the time.