Three matches, three wins each with an attacking bonus: the French women’s rugby team reacted perfectly to England, who triumphed over Wales (58-5) on Saturday. By winning in Scotland (28-8), Sunday, April 10 for the third day of the Six Nations Tournament, France’s XV is aiming to emulate their male counterparts by achieving their first grand slam since 2018. The Tricolores are second behind the Red Roses on points difference.
Les Bleues were not as transcendent and dominant as the score would suggest for their first trip to this competition. Against Italy at the opening of the tournament (39-6, March 27), they were sometimes messy offensively. Perhaps the result of the largely renewed composition of manager Annick Hayraud: nine changes compared to the victory over Ireland (40-5) last Saturday. “We need to be much more precise in areas of the field that are important”confirmed France 2 captain Gaëlle Hermet after the game.
A problematic indiscipline
Worse still, they were extremely unruly and got 16 penalties in total, seven of them in the first 20 minutes alone. “We have to straighten our heads, we are very undisciplined, regretted Gaëlle Hermet. We win the game, but it could be detrimental to us. † Despite having an advantageous possession (63% of the time), the Scots only took advantage of it in numerical superiority thanks to Chloe Rollie’s test (28-8, 68and), a few minutes after Julie Annery’s (64and† Previously, the XV du Chardon had multiplied the inaccuracies as he approached the opposing team, once again demonstrating the defensive qualities of the French team.
🏉 Chloé Rollie’s strong effort that allows the Scots to close the gap. French women, outnumbered… https://t.co/vnOoKZP4qv
Despite these slugs and the valiant performance of the Scots, the Blues had already secured the offensive bonus at the break thanks to an efficiency that is now its trademark. That was good for them, because they didn’t score any points in the second half.
Laure Sansus, author of a new double after the successful one against Ireland, is the perfect illustration of French realism. The scrum half single-handedly scored the first try of the match by taking a handsome kick for himself over the Scottish defense (7-0, 8and† For her second attempt, she was simply in the right place at the right time to receive a few centimeters from the goal area against captain Gaëlle Hermet (21-3, 35and†
🏉 First try of the game for Laure Sansus who surprises the opposing team’s defence. France is finally becoming a reality in the face of… https://t.co/nCQdMU4MLB
Jessy Trémoulière’s reassuring footwork
Often imprecise with the ball in hand, the Bleues also relied on the depth of play at the foot of Jessy Trémoulière. The full-back, repositioned as fly-half on Sunday, showed that she was the best player of the decade for a reason; she was voted woman of the match at the Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow.
It was she who scored the second tricolor try after a nice fake pass (14-3, 27and) before being behind the fourth try, synonymous with an offensive bonus (28-3, 39and† Indeed, Gaëlle Hermet leveled off after a touch that Trémoulière had received thanks to the 50:22 rule (when a team indirectly finds the touch in the opposing team 22 meters from its own side, it recovers the throw).
Still, the Blues continue their march, even without really convincing in the game. They will now benefit from a little rest before moving to Wales in two weeks, the final step to be taken before the final. nominated for the Six Nations Tournament against England on April 30 in Bayonne.
