Women’s Six Nations Tournament: France outclasses Scotland

2023-04-17 07:36:04

Published on : 17/04/2023 – 07:36

The French women largely triumphed over the Scots on Sunday at the Stade de la Rabine, in Vannes, as part of the third day of the Six Nations Tournament. The next trip for Les Bleues will take place next Sunday, against Wales.

The women’s XV of France celebrated its reunion with the French public with fanfare, by outclassing Scotland (55-0) in Vannes on Sunday April 16. France remains undefeated at the end of this third day of the Six Nations Tournament.

After a sluggish start in Italy (22-12) and a show of force in Ireland (53-3), Les Bleues again showed a very attractive face at the Rabine stadium in Vannes, which was sold out (12,000 spectators) for the occasion.

“We were keen to play a good game in front of this great audience here in Vannes, it really helped and really pushed us not to let go during these 80 minutes,” said captain Audrey Forlani after the game.

Next Sunday, April 23, in the afternoon, the French will play again at home, this time in Grenoble, against the Welsh, third in the standings but who fell heavily on Saturday against England (59-3). A victory for Les Bleues will be imperative before challenging an impressive English team, for a possible highly anticipated final on April 29 at Twickenham.

Nine attempts registered by the French

Under a spring sun, the French, third at the last World Cup in New Zealand in December, started well with a first try signed by scrum half Pauline Bourdon, author of a good race after a recovery from Mélissande Llorens.

As with the men, the Scots moved play and held the ball, but came up against a well-placed French defense. The French, who sometimes abused the game at the foot of occupation, nevertheless scored two new tries in the first half by Llorens and Boulard and were already well ahead at the break (17-0).

“We came home at half-time telling the girls that we had to speed up in 2^e period and (…) that the contribution of our finishers would allow us to put an additional boost”, explained Gaëlle Mignot, co-trainer, at a press conference.

Thus, on returning from the locker room, the French were quick to secure the offensive bonus point with a new try scored by the back Émilie Boulard after a fine attack (22-0, 47^e). Vastly superior physically and technically, the French women chained the tries against the completely overwhelmed Scots, and the score swelled thanks to the contribution of a solid bench.

“We had very little waste in the last zone, it’s really very positive and bodes well for the future”, welcomed Émilie Boulard, author of a hat-trick.

The Stade de la Rabine, delighted with the spectacle offered and which had already had the opportunity to vibrate for the women’s XV of France (against South Africa), exulted after each test and sang several “Marseillaise”. In total, the French women scored nine tries, several of which were excellent, against a Scottish team a level below.

With AFP