France v Ireland
Stade Marie-Marvingt, Le Mans
France gained their expected victory in front of a packed crowd, but the Irish have every reason to congratulate themselves. Putting in a formidable defensive effort, they equalled their largest ever score against les Bleues.
It looked very different at the start. Inside three minutes Pauline Bourdon Sansus exploited a tiny gap behind a rolling maul to cross the line. So simple. 7-0
But half-an-hour later the score was only 7-3.
At first Ireland’s game was based on Nicole Fowley’s ability to kick the ball as deep as possible.
France’s nature is to counter-attack, so we wondered how Ireland could gain a foothold. Answer: in that defence, strong enough to disrupt French plans.
France had plenty of chances, but they coughed the ball up too often, especially after threatening bursts by Chalotte Escudero and Annaëlle Deshayes. Irish tackling verged on the heroic. The French had other chances, but an old failing, inaccurate line-out throws, denied them until PBS produced another piece of magic. She move sharp right from behind a ruck, but slipped a reverse pass to Marine Ménager. She needed only one deceptive step to evade the last defender and was over. 14-3
But it was a telling moment when Manae Feleu opted for a pot at goal, rather than the traditional corner kick and rumble over. Lina Queyroi obliged.
Half-time: 17-3
This was a far less dramatic score then had seemed likely 40 minutes earlier.
Scott Bemand brought Dannah O’Brien on at once. Her left-footed kicks had their very good moments, but she couldn’t improve one of Ireland’s main weaknesses: to move the ball smoothly cross-field.
Whenever they did try, inaccuracy failed them. The attack coach will have to work hard on that.
Slowly but surely les Bleues pulled away. First Madoussou Fall found a way through a green wall on the line. (24-7) Then three minutes later cheers greeted Kelly Arbey’s debut try. But no! The TMO had spotted a forward pass off the ground a few seconds earlier. The crowd, with a far better view than the official staring at repeated close-ups of the infringement, booed.
Just after PBS was replaced on 60 minutes Agathe Sochat scored on the end of a rare, perfectly executed rolling drive. 31-7
But Ireland’s continued defensive efforts paid off. Inside six minutes they crossed the French line twice – first Aoife Wafer, who had a game to remember; then Aoife Dalton, who chased a loose French pass back beyond to the line to gain the TMO’s verdict.
The one pity was that between those two strikes, they allowed Elisa Riffonneau to add a fifth try for the hosts. Even so, the French failed to mount 40 points. That was a (relative) failing shown last year; they are still seeking a way of putting a pile of points on outplayed opponents.
Lina Queyroi masked Caroline Drouin’s absence (an injured knee) by potting 5/5 and showing great invention.
For the Irish this can be seen only as redemption. The improvements over last year were plain to see. Now they must consolidate with a similar performance against the Azzurre. No wonder Bemand had hardly any voice left at the end.
Teams:
France
15 Emilie Boulard 14 *Kelly Arbey 13 Nassira Konde 12 Gabrielle Vernier 11 Marine Ménager 10 Lina Queyroi 9 Pauline Bourdon Sansus 1 Annaëlle Deshayes 2 Agathe Sochat 3 Assia Khalfaoui 4 Manae Feleu (captain) 5 Madoussou Fall 6 Charlotte Escudero 7 Gaëlle Hermet 8 Romane Ménager
16 Elisa Riffonneau 17 Ambre Mwayembe 18 Clara Joyeux 19 Kiara Zago 20 Emeline Gros 21 Alex Chambon 22 *Lina Tuy 23 Morgane Bourgeois
*uncapped
Ireland
15 Lauren Delany 14 *Katie Corrigan 13 Eve Higgins 12 Aoife Dalton 11 Béibhinn Parsons 10 Nicole Fowley 9 Aoibheann Reilly 1 Linda Djougang 2 Neve Jones 3 Christy Haney 4 Dorothy Wall 5 Hannah O’Connor 6 Aoife Wafer 7 Edel McMahon (captain) 8 Brittany Hogan
16 Sarah Delaney 17 Niamh O’Dowd 18 Sadhbh McGrath 19 Fiona Tuite 20 Grace Moore 21 Molly Scuffil-McCabe 22 Dannah O’Brien 23 Méabh Deely
One point of similarity: both the starting right-wingers were 18-year-old debutants’ that’s as far as the parallels stetched. The Irish reminded you of a development side, and Ireland had beaten France three times in 37 encounters: back to those palmy days a decade ago.
Result: France 38 Ireland 17 Referee: Kat Roche (USA)
Player of the Match: Madoussou Fall
Attendance: c. 15,000
Afterthoughts
The Irish had no doubts: the standards of the opening year of the Celtic Challenge were not good enough; this year’s offered an advance. Now the question was how far a new coaching set-up could rectify past mistakes. This game provided the answer.
John McKee, the senior coach, said Sam Monaghan was almost ready to take the field in France, but it was thought wiser to give her another week.
To look at the size of the crowd, you’d never believe southern Normandy was a rugby-playing desert.
Coverage
The BBC is throwing its weight behind the operation. One detail: as we gawp across the long line of punditry on offer – Maggie Alphonsi, Sarah Bern, Katy Daley-McClean, Jade Konkel, Heather Lockhart, Claudia Macdonald, Brian Moore, Sene Naoupu, Rachel Taylor and Philippa Tuttiett – we spot three names we’d rather have seen on the team-lists. But in recompense, how wonderful to get the inside view.
