2nd Saturday - France v England (8.00am BST) - The Utrecht Shield match

[Which Tyler]

A thread for just this match, which is likely to be the only one with much in the way of live conversation, due to time-zone issues and the national make-up of this board.

No spoilers for the other matches please. I suspect I won't be the only one getting up to watch this live, and talk about it; intending to watch the earlier matches later. Yes, I know that runs the high risk of ITV showing spoilers, but let's not increase it here as well.

 

[Which Tyler]

At Whangarei (surely, of all matches other than NZ v Aus, this one deserves a bigger stadium!)
Ref: Joy Neville
TJs: Aimee Barrett-Theron & Kat Roche
TMO: Ben Whitehouse


France:
1 Annaelle Deshaye
2 Agathe Sochat
3 Clara Joyeux
4 Celine Ferer
5 Madoussou Fall
6 Charlotte Escudero
7 Marjorie Mayans
8 Romane Menager

9 Laure Sansus
10 Caroline Drouin
11 Emilie Boulard
12 Gabrielle Vernier
13 Maelle Filopon
14 Joanna Grisez
15 Chloe Jacquet

16 Laure Touye, 17 Coco Lindelauf, 18 Assia Khalfaoui, 19 Safi N'Diaye, 20 Gaëlle Hermet
21 Pauline Bourdon, 22 Lina Queyroi, 23 Marine Menager


England:
1 Vickii Cornborough
2 Amy Cokayne
3 Sarah Bern
4 Zoe Aldcroft
5 Abbie Ward
6 Alex Matthews
7 Marlie Packer
8 Sarah Hunter

9 Leanne Infante
10 Zoe Harrison
11 Claudia Macdonald
12 Helena Rowland
13 Emily Scarratt
14 Lydia Thompson
15 Ellie Kildunne

16 Connie Powell, 17 Hannah Botterman, 18 Maud Muir, 19 Cath O'Donnell, 20 Poppy Cleall
21 Lucy Packer, 22 Holly Aitchison, 23 Abby Dow

 

[Wendigo7]

Very excited. 20 pt win on the cards for England.

 

[duncanb]

England v France arguably the best 2 teams in tournament showcase for the final ?
5 points either way, Red Roses favourites but struggle generally against France.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Hoping england win relatively comfortably; the best chance of New Zealand winning this World Cup will be englands complacency, so the more they can be lulled into a false sense of security the better. Of course if england wins this too well it might fire france up, so it's lose lose really. Maybe a 18 point victory to england will be the best we can hope for.

 

[Which Tyler]

Late to posting, cooked breakfast ran late, given interest in Sco v Aus down to the last whistle.

Injuries favouring England, but you absolutely hate to see it.
Both essential players, both looked bad, and both with loved ones on the bench!

 

[TommiG88]

They like to big up Packer, but I’ve constantly seen her take it into traffic with no support

 

[Which Tyler]

Brilliant, and very professional last 2 minutes from England.

 

[Reiser99]

A lot closer than it should have been. French defense was immense, but England really should have got more points on the board. French try was well taken, but reality was it was a moment of brilliance and France never really looked like scoring.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Not the game the rest of the teams wanted ; this is just going to mean england puts extra effort into being clinical.they'll probably win the final by forty now.

 

[Which Tyler]

A lot closer than it should have been. French defense was immense, but England really should have got more points on the board. French try was well taken, but reality was it was a moment of brilliance and France never really looked like scoring.

France were under constant pressure, with and without the ball, and did a fantastic job to keep us to 1 try. Quite honestly I can't see anyone else keeping England to 1 try.

They were also without their principal decision maker and principal ball carrier for the vast majority of the match, both of whom are world class.

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

England and France are definitely a step above anyone else in the tournament. The passes in this game had a zip that the other games lacked. France unlucky with early injuries but impressive by England to gut this one out.

 

[Which Tyler]

****!

France's Laure Sansus ruled out of remainder of World Cup

France’s Rugby World Cup campaign has suffered a major blow with the news that scrum-half Laure Sansus has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a serious knee injury sustained against England.

www.rugbypass.com

"Following the injury sustained during the match against England, Laure Sansus suffers from a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee. She is therefore out for the rest of the World Cup," the French rugby federation (FFR) said in a statement.

The injury means that Sansus's playing career is now over after she hinted towards the World Cup in New Zealand being her last tournament.