England see off French to seal Grand Slam glory
TWO tries from Bristol prop Sarah Bern helped England claim the Grand Slam with a 24-12 victory over France in ‘Le Crunch’ in Bayonne.
England produced a dominant first-half performance to lay the platform for an emphatic 23rd successive victory in the final match of the 2022 TikTok Women’s Six Nations that enabled them to add the championship to the Triple Crown.
The Red Roses scored all their three tries before half-time to silence the capacity crowd at Stade Jean Dauger while centre Emily Scarratt (right), captaining the side in the absence of injured regular skipper Sarah Hunter, scored their only points in the second half through a penalty to add to her three conversions.
England’s 10th successive triumph over their world number three ranked opponents confirms their position as favourites for the World Cup in New Zealand later this year.
Wales secured a third-place finish in the TikTok Women’s Six Nations Championship despite being beaten 10-8 by Italy at Cardiff Arms Park.
They suffered a third successive defeat in the tournament following victories over Ireland and Scotland, but a losing bonus point confirmed third spot.
In the URC, Leinster confirmed their place as top seeds in the United Rugby Championship quarter-finals despite being beaten 20-13 by the Stormers in Cape Town yesterday.
A losing bonus point means that Leinster cannot be caught at the top as they guaranteed themselves a home quarter-final.
The Stormers are also wellplaced for a home tie and they were good value for their victory.
Second-half tries by full-back Warrick Gelant and wing Seabelo Senatla put the Stormers in charge, before a penalty try sealed victory.
Leinster had two players sinbinned during the second period, yet they were level after an hour following prop Ed Byrne’s try that Harry Byrne converted, while Ciaran Frawley kicked two earlier penalties.
Elsewhere, Connacht were blown away in the second half by the Sharks, losing 41-21 in Durban.
The Westerners could not build on a 21-10 half-time lead earned through tries from Gavin Thornbury and Caolin Blade and 11 points from the boot of Conor Fitzgerald.
Ulster withstood a late home onslaught to secure a narrow 16-10 away win which lifts them to fifth in the table and keeps alive their hopes of a home play-off.
The losing bonus point
Edinburgh’s involvement in the knockout stage of the season, but they will face a tricky away assignment in either Ireland or South Africa, depending on how the final round of matches pans out.
Robert Baloucoune continued his impressive try-scoring form with another touchdown with Nathan Doak’s boot doing the rest.
Both players continue to make strong claims to be on the plane for Ireland’s summer tour to New Zealand. urc STanDingS: 1 Leinster 62pts; 2 Munster 56 pts; 3 Sharks 56 pts; 4 Stormers 56 pts;
5 Ulster 55pts; 6 Bulls 53 pts; 7 Glasgow 50 pts; 8 Edinburgh 50pts; 9 Scarlets 44 pts; 10 Ospreys 39 pts; 11 Lions 37 pts; 12 Connacht 36pts; 13 Treviso 25pts; 14 Cardiff 23pts; 15 Dragons 17pts; 16 Zebre