France v Wales
Six Nations, Round Four, Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
Result: France 39 Wales 14
Player of the Match: Gaëlle Hermet
Another stormer of a match on the edge of the Alps. France made sure they beat the current 6N attendance record before Twickenham could smother it six days later – 18 604 present. And they made their intentions about that match crystal-clear.
Whether HQ can equal the height of intensity and emotion displayed here remains to be seen.
The game looked all over inside half-an-hour. Les Bleues showed high skill and determination in constructing four tries. iInitially Wales were a bag of nerves, knock-ons, poor kicks, turnovers, and so on.
With a dramatic change in the weather after the break so did Wales’ fortunes change. The reinforcements sent on for the last quarter put them on the front foot. The new front row (Gwen Prys, Kelsey Jones and Sisilia Tuipulotu) and Keira Bevan gave their team vital impetus. France had to reload their defensive weapons.
Ball by ball
The game could hardly have started worse for the visitors. Kate Williams fumbled the kick-off. Result: one minute later France had their first score, a lightning-quick 8-9 move off the back of the scrum, and Romane Ménager was on the ball again to finish. Welsh untidiness continued as they struggled to keep pace. Elinor Snowsill missed a touch kick (another followed later), and the pack transgressed at the breakdown. Jessy Trémoulière kicked a penalty. (10-0).
Still less than ten minutes gone, and a delightful Trémoulière cross-kick found Gaëlle Hermet in enough space to wrong-foot Carys Williams-Morris; she had the pace to complete a second try. (17-0)
When Sioned Harries was shown yellow on 16 minutes, it looked all over for the Welsh. For all her experience she still hasn’t learned to temper vigour with discretion. Lisa Neumann had just managed to stop Cyrielle Banet short of the line, but this undid the good work.
It took 17 minutes for the French to commit their first unforced error.
An interception at last let Wales into the French 22, but they couldn’t exploit. Cerys Hales left the field for what must have been an HIA, since she did return later. Her replacement, Sisilia Tuipulotu, at once made a bullocking run to restore Welsh hopes. But a moment later a French line-out caught them napping. The ball swung into midfield where Mélissande Llorens exploited a tiny gap, then made her sinuous way to the line. (24-0) These wingers get everywhere in the modern game.
As with Ireland and Italy the day before, the Welsh couldn’t get reliable possession from the line- out. Small chances kept on going begging.
France made the final gesture of the half, putting together a wonderful move. Two outstanding off- loads by Marine Ménager then Gabi Vernier saw Llorens pick up her second try.
Half-time 29-0
Whatever Ioan Cunningham told his troops at half-time worked wonders. So did the weather, heavy rain and a following gale helping them to gain ground more easily. Their performance rose perceptibly, with cleaner handling and better decision-making. But not all at once: some faults continued. Another promising line-out went wonky, and Llorens was allowed to run half a pitch-length out of deepest defence. This break developed into another fabulous multi-pass move by the French,
Charlotte Escudero finishing it off. (34-0)
It has to be said that the Welsh bench made a huge difference when allowed on around the 55th minute. That may well have been the coaching team’s plan. They brought new drive to Welsh efforts, and the crowd grew distinctly quieter.
Georgia Evans, who worked hard throughout, was on the end of the first riposte. The effect on the team was palpable. The pack hammered at the French line, and Gwen Pyrs took the second try.
It was noticeable how often the French (led by the most fluent English speakers, Hermet and Agathe Sochat), now queried Munarini’s decisions. She was having none of it.
But even here Welsh inadequacies were to be seen. Other chances were created but not exploited.
Instead, the French made sure they finished the game right on top. Three minutes from time Rose Bernadou claimed the last try. Even after the clock went red the French ignored chances of shutting the game down; they kept the passing moves going, but in the conditions could be forgiven for failing to add another score.
Teams:
France
15 Emilie Boulard, 14 Cyrielle Banet, 13 Marine Ménager, 12 Gabrielle Vernier, 11 Mélissande Llorens, 10 Jessy Trémoulière, 9 Alexandra Chambon, 1 Ylana Brosseau, 2 Agathe Sochat, 3 Assia Khalfaoui, 4 Maëlle Picut, 5 Audrey Forlani (captain), 6 Charlotte Escudero, 7 Gaëlle Hermet, 8 Romane Ménager
Bench:
16 Elisa Riffoneau, 17 Ambre Mwayembe, 18 Rose Bernadou, 19 Manaé Feleu, 20 Emeline Gros, 21 *Margaux Duces, 22 Carla Arbez, 23 Maëlle Filopon
*uncapped
Wales
15. Courtney Keight, 14. Lisa Neumann, 13. Hannah Jones (captain), 12. Lleucu George, 11. Carys Williams-Morris, 10. Elinor Snowsill, 9. Ffion Lewis, 1. *Abbey Constable, 2. Carys Phillips, 3. Cerys Hale, 4. Abbie Fleming, 5. Georgia Evans, 6. Bethan Lewis, 7. Kate Williams, 8. Sioned Harries
Bench:
16. Kelsey Jones, 17. Gwenllian Pyrs, 18. Sisilia Tuipulotu, 19. Bryonie King, 20. Alex Callender, 21. Keira Bevan, 22. Robyn Wilkins, 23. Niamh Terry
*uncapped
Referee: Clara Munarini (FIR)
ARs: Katherine Ritchie (RFU) and Mary Pringle (SRU) TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)
Table W L Pts
England 4 0 20
France 4 0 19
Wales 2 2 10
Scotland 1 3 5
Italy 1 3 4
Ireland 0 3 0
Afterthoughts
For the Grenoble match Pauline Bourdon was stood down, keeping her intact for the big showdown. And it gave the selectors the chance to see two young No 9s, Alexandre Chambon and Margaux Duces in action. By contrast Romane Ménager returned to the back row, giving it even more impact than last time.
For the Welsh, all the first-choice front row were held back on the bench, Ioan Cunningham no doubt reckoning that a win in Italy was far more likely than in Grenoble. Exactly the same could go for Keira Bevan and Alex Callender, two vital cogs in the Welsh machine.
Two matters for high sentiment: Elinor Snowsill celebrated her 75th cap. Congratulations. And Jessy Trémoulière made her final appearance on home soil. Cheered to the rafters.
We have witnessed a marked change in French game-plans: they went into the game with the most distance gained by kicks; and Trémoulière started at 10 again.
A few facts established now: England and France have qualified for Tier 1 of the WXV, to nobody’s surprise. Wales are in pole position to join them; they need to gain one point in Parma to be sure.
