England defence delivers to hold back tide of Les Bleues
On the day their football counterparts made history at a sold-out Wembley Stadium, some 560 miles away in the Auvergne region of central-southern France, a crowd of 13,700 came out in force for another edition of Le Crunch.
It was in the intimidating Stade Marcel-Michelin where England ground out their first victory on French soil since 2012, a testament to their evolving professional status.
Yet at times the fine line between professionalism and France’s semi-professional outfit – known simply in these parts as ‘les rugbywomen’ – was stripped down to a thread. Had it not been for some resolute defending in the last 10 minutes – and had Jessy Tremouliere not squandered a straightforward penalty early on – the outcome might have been different.
“When you’re defending against your try-line it’s not ultimately about how fit you are, it’s a mindset thing when you’ve got your backs against the wall and you’ve got wave after wave of French attack coming,” said England captain Sarah Hunter.
It was only after Emily Scaratt had cancelled out Tremouliere’s second successful penalty that the stadium announcer awkwardly reminded the crowd to respect the kicker, who less than a week ago had made the 12,000mile trip to Tokyo to be crowned the world’s best player.
Despite their jagged start, England unleashed the most prized firearm from their arsenal in their driving maul. On this occasion, it was the talismanic Hunter who orchestrated the big push before dotting down. “It’s an unfancied part of the game, but it’s effective,” said Simon Middleton, England’s head coach.
It was the all-important move which jolted the Red Roses into life as France suffered an immediate lapse in concentration. Within minutes of the restart, Hunter crashed over again.
On paper, England had the edge over Les Bleues, many of whom were bumped up to semi-professional contracts last year. When she scorched over on the hour mark after Marlie Packer was shown yellow, few in the stadium might have believed Camille Boudaud tops up her non-rugby hours as an occupational therapist but this is the reality for the bulk of Annick Hayraud’s bullish side.
Tremouliere’s conversion put the hosts back in contention but France were too often frustrated by a missed pass and Scaratt rounded off a perfect week in her new status as the world’s best by slotting home a penalty.