The Red Roses normally had their heroines, with Marlie Packer a constant thorn in the French side and Emily Scarratt scoring all of her side’s points, including a 24th-minute try that gave England the space they needed. Despite the prowess of the line and occasional scrum pressure, however, Simon Middleton’s side will need to change their game a little more if they are to reclaim the world title they last won in 2014. In the last 10 minutes France were still on the scoresheet and upset the composure of an England side that usually have opponents on toast well before the end. It is indeed a rare day when these two totems of the women’s game, Scarratt and Sarah Hunter, both drop balls they would normally catch in their sleep, but it was just a symptom of the defensive pressure the French were able to apply. There were even some scrums to add to the intensity of the occasion and Hunter, who has now equaled Rocky Clark’s all-time record with 137 caps for her country, admitted her side had a real battle. “It was scrappy out there,” confirmed the England captain. “Hopefully it was a great showcase for women’s rugby.” An absorbing, if occasionally stop-start, game could have been even more difficult for England if France had stuck to the ball at some key moments and not lost their two best players, Laure Sansus and Romane Ménager, inside in the first quarter. Scrum half Sansus was this year’s Six Nations player of the tournament, but only 12 minutes had passed when she was carted off with a leg injury, her night already over. Worse was to follow for the French when the excellent No 8 Ménager went up against Zoe Aldcroft and was knocked out cold. At first, referee Joey Neville thought she was deliberately lying on the wrong side of the ruck, but it quickly became clear she was unconscious, a worrying sight at any time, let alone a match of this magnitude. It was a relief to see her sit up, but her tearful farewell, as her worried twin sister Marin looked on from the bench, was a reminder that the women’s game can be just as unforgiving as the men’s. Watching England’s forwards thunder into touch, he would also have been impressed by France’s determination, with 81 tackles required by the team in blue in the first 25 minutes alone. England didn’t have it all their own way at the breakdown either, but the pressure always looked likely to show eventually. Instead of opting for the usual drive, the Red Roses opted to search a little more and after the busy Alex Matthews had made a crucial tackle, Zoe Harrison deftly put over the determined Scarratt for the game’s opening try after 24 minutes. Emily Scarratt dives to score England’s only try. Photo: Brett Phibbs/PA The centre’s conversion made it 7-0 but France would not go away. Ellie Kildunne was the victim of a particularly scathing tackle by Gabrielle Vernier, who drove her opponent powerfully back into the midfield. Neville awarded a penalty because Kildoon’s feet ended up fractionally over the bar, but a point had been forced. The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the action of the week covered Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. It was no surprise, then, when England opted for the sticks just before half-time to claim three easy points instead of opting for the corner and another line-out. The 10-0 advantage at halftime might not have been huge, but in the context of a tight contest it was useful. With the pre-match breeze now down, however, England would have expected their dynamic bench to make more of an impact than they did. Another flurry of French penalties allowed Scarratt to slot home her second, but it was no less than France deserved when a cross from fly-half Caroline Drouin found athletic winger Joanna Grisez, who slotted the ball home for for Gaëlle Hermet to score. . Perhaps on another day, with more possession, France would have caused even more attacking problems, leaving Middleton and his assistants with plenty to think about ahead of their final pool game against South Africa next weekend. “My hat’s off to France, they’re so tough,” the coach said. “It turned into an absolute arm wrestle but we showed great composure at the end. It was definitely lacking a bit in terms of our finishing and that’s why we ended up with such a close encounter. We have to be better at putting them away.”
