England sink France to march into final
England will play New Zealand in the final of the Women’s Rugby World Cup after a dogged, gutsy performance saw off a French side who pushed them far closer than the scoreline might suggest.
It was a game billed as ‘Le Crunch’, and it certainly lived up to expectations as the wet Belfast weather combined with immense defensive performances from both sides created an enthralling spectacle.
The game was perfectly balanced at 3-3 at half-time before player of the match Sarah Bern, at 20 the youngest member of England’s squad, scored the defending champions’ first try. Another 20-yearold, replacement Megan Jones, also proved vital as she made a brilliant try-saving tackle on Julie Annery before scoring England’s second herself, while Emily Scarratt’s place-kicking was much improved.
It was a dramatic finish to a game that had been dominated in the build-up by the injury-enforced absence of France’s openside flanker Romane Menager, who was instrumental in her side’s 21-5 dismantling of Ireland. Meanwhile, England head coach Simon Middleton was proved right to put his faith in his young front row of Bern, 21-year-old hooker Amy Cokayne and 27-year-old Vickii Cornborough, confining Rochelle ‘Rocky’ Clark, the most capped English player, female or male, to the bench.
In the driving rain, the French brought a combination of the promised flair but perhaps increased physicality due to the conditions, with outside centre Caroline Ladagnous looking dangerous early on. This combination of style and substance from the French was an aspect Middleton said tested his team.
“It was a game befitting of a World Cup semi-final,” he said. “France have been incredible for this tournament. We saw both sides of them; the flair that everybody knows goes with them but the toughness we saw tonight, the doggedness. Full credit to them, they made a great game of it. We had to fight every inch of the way.”
Despite early pressure from Les Bleues, England drew first blood with a penalty from Scarratt, after France’s tighthead Julie Duval entered the ruck from the side.
France continued to press and after a high tackle on their captain and hooker Gaelle Mignot, wing Shannon Izar converted a longrange penalty to ensure the teams went in level at half-time.
England had been pushed back at the start of the first half but they were in command from the start of the second as good work from Scarratt created an opening for Kay Wilson, only for lock Audrey Forlani to make an excellent try-saving tackle.
France’s defensive effort was immense but minutes later England’s gain of territory was rewarded with a penalty which Scarratt again kicked to put her side ahead. It was a lead they would not lose.
Scarratt went on to miss a chance to extend the lead from the tee – a miss which brought such a reaction from the crowd one would have thought the French had scored – but just two minutes later Bern made the decisive contribution.
It was a typical prop’s effort as Bern, described as “a box on legs” by her team-mates such is the tighthead’s mobility around the park, crashed over the line from close range for the first try of the night. Scarratt added the conversion to take the lead out to 13-3.
The French were not done yet, however, and with 12 minutes remaining Annery looked to have made her mark by scoring in the corner after a fine move. Replays, though, showed Jones had made a wonderful saving tackle, dragging the flanker’s foot into touch, and Irish television match official Simon Mcdowell disallowed the score.
That signalled the end of France’s challenge and in the final play of the game Jones capitalised on a lack of concentration to add some gloss to the scoreline and secure a win that led Middleton to praise his side’s calmness under pressure.
“They are the last group to panic,” he said. “They know when to step up. There have been a lot of tough situations this year and a lot of pressurised situations and they have come out of the right side of them all. We have one more to do and they won’t need to be pointed in any directions, they all know exactly what it takes to do on Saturday.”
It was a sentiment echoed by captain Sarah Hunter. “The squad effort, the patience we had; in the dressing room at half-time when it was three all there was absolutely no panic,” she said. “It was absolute composure, absolute belief in each other within the squad and we had the belief that we would go and finish that job.”
Then, to crown off a fabulous night, it was confirmed the final will be shown on ITV - rather than ITV4 – on Saturday evening at prime time, a decision warmly welcomed by Hunter.
“That is brilliant news,” she said. “We want to showcase our sport to the widest audience possible. So, to get a prime-time slot on terrestrial TV, so anyone can watch it and support us...credit to ITV.”
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