Three games, three victories each time with an attacking bonus: the French women’s rugby team responded perfectly to England, victorious on Saturday over Wales (58-5). By winning in Scotland (28-8), Sunday April 10 for the third day of the Six Nations Tournament, the XV of France pursues its objective of imitating 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 dominating as the score would suggest for their first trip to this competition. As against Italy at the opening of the Tournament (39-6, March 27), they were sometimes messy offensively. The consequence, perhaps, of the largely redesigned composition proposed by manager Annick Hayraud: nine changes compared to the victory against Ireland (40-5) last Saturday. “We need to be much more precise in areas of the pitch that are important”confirmed after the match captain Gaëlle Hermet at the microphone of France 2.
A problematic indiscipline
More annoyingly, they were particularly unruly, conceding a total of sixteen penalties including seven in the first twenty minutes alone. “We have to get our heads straight, we are very undisciplined, regretted Gaëlle Hermet. We win the match but it can be detrimental to us. » Despite an advantageous possession (63% of the time), the Scots only took advantage of it in numerical superiority thanks to the test of Chloe Rollie (28-8, 68and), a few minutes after Julie Annery’s yellow card (64and). Previously, the XV du Chardon had multiplied the inaccuracies as soon as it approached the opposing line, proof once again of the defensive qualities of the France team.
🏉 Chloé Rollie’s strong try that allows the Scots to close the gap. French women, outnumbered… https://t.co/vnOoKZP4qv
Despite these slags and the valiant performance of the Scots, the Blues had already provided the offensive bonus at the break thanks to an efficiency which now represents its trademark. It was good for them since they did not score any points in the second half.
Author of a new double after the successful one against Ireland, Laure Sansus is the perfect illustration of French realism. The scrum-half scored the first try of the game on her own by taking a clever kick for herself above the Scottish defense (7-0, 8and). For her second try, she was simply in the right place at the right time to receive a few centimeters from the in-goal against captain Gaëlle Hermet (21-3, 35and).
🏉 The first try of the match for Laure Sansus who surprises the opposing defense. France finally materializes in the face of… https://t.co/nCQdMU4MLB
The reassuring footwork of Jessy Trémoulière
Often imprecise with the ball in hand, the Bleues also relied on the depth of the game at the foot of Jessy Trémoulière. The full-back, repositioned as fly-half on Sunday, showed she wasn’t the best player of the decade for nothing; 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). Gaëlle Hermet indeed flattened following a touch that Trémoulière had gleaned thanks to the 50:22 rule (when a team indirectly finds the touch in the opposing 22 meters from its own camp, it recovers the throw).
Still, the Blues continue their march forward, even without really convincing in the game. They will now benefit from a little rest before moving to Wales in two weeks, the last step to take before the final. nominated for the Six Nations Tournament against England on April 30 in Bayonne.
