France Under 18s v England Under 18s
A favourite sporting term these days is GOAT, followed by “(perhaps) the best sports team there has ever been” (Ugo Monye on the Red Roses).
But the French Under 18 team can put in a claim. They very rarely get beaten, and as the big clash with England approached, they were the only team sitting on a faultless 4-0 record. England were unbeaten too, but had drawn their game with Italy.
The match was subjected to Storm Kathleen which blew a strong wind down the ground. England were favoured first, though the half-time score didn’t reflect the advantage. Once more the French proved to be several stages ahead even of an English squad given every possible advantage,
Put at its simplest, the Bleuettes played with their heads up, seizing every chance to exploit chances. By contrast the English game depended increasingly on a one-out pass and another head-down run into the next collision. The senior Red Roses’ ability to move the ball away quickly from the breakdown point wasn’t imitated by this younger generation.
We must pay a visit to the hideaway factory where France manufactures its Number 9s. Production is slow but telling – quality not quantity is the slogan,. On parade today was Perrine Fagnen; no surprise that she was also the captain. Her eye for the gap, her pace and elusiveness were too much for the opposition.
It took her team five minutes to mount an opening score, Zarasoa Macquart powering over as a break was exploited to the full.
A early English weakness was not committing enough players to the breakdown. More than once French forwards were able to turn the ball over; it was all too easy.
One of their best phases in the entire game now followed. The pack did its job at a set-scrum and hammered at the line. The scrum-half, Evie Haskell, having sent the ball out a number of times, dummied the next pass and streaked over for a clever try. Sad to relate, she is yet another 9 who normally takes two paces before delivering the ball to her backs. It’s only a fraction of time, but the inability of the midfield to spread the ball to the wide spaces wasn’t helped by this delay.
In stark contrast the French showed the ability to free the ball at will, creating more and more problems for the defence to solve.
Now their pack got the shove-on at a scrum and Fagnen made a quite magnificent break all the way to the line. Next it was No 12 Aelig Tregouet who made another devastating run to score.
At last the French showed fallibilities: three consecutive errors from the drop-out gave England’s No 8, Haineala Lutui, the chance to tap and bullock her way over. That brought England back to a one-point deficit (14-15), but they couldn’t profit from the gale at their backs. Kicks missed touch or ran dead. They proved costly.
Next it was left-winger Kalea Berroyer who found herself in an acre of space to cross in the corner.
Negligence brought the final score of the half. England held the French at a breakdown, then stopped working. Fagnen spotted absent guards on the edges and ran brilliantly half the length of the pitch to score her second try.
Half-time: France 25 England 14
On the resumption the weakness in the English game-plan was starkly exposed. They worked their way slowly out of defence, resolutely refusing to offer more than one pass beyond the breakdown; then, the moment they did attempt a second, it fell straight into the arms of Faustine Piscicelli who ran in unopposed.
Though they were enjoying the benefit of the gale now, it was France’s speed of thought, handling and support that caught the eye.
Soon after that first try, Piscicelli made another break and fed Tregouet for her second. A fine saving tackle by Hayley Jones forced a knock-on as Fagnen dived for the line. No sooner had England managed to enter French territory again than the ball was swung out to Mariama Tandiang on the left. She had too much pace for the cover defence.
England’s one riposte came to Jones. It was yet another hard-working series of pick-and-goes close to the line. She did well to cross, but the wingers went on waiting in vain.
Result: France 46 v England 21
Referee: Amber Stamp Dunstan (WRU)
Colwyn Bay, 6 April 2024
Teams (as originally announced)
France
15 Emy Baudru 14 Maud Barcelot 13 Charlie Gauyat 12 Aelig Tregouet 11 Kalea Berroyer 10 Faustine Piscicelli 9 Perrine Fagnen (captain) 1 Lena Lamour 2 Anais Peralez 3 Iness Zeze 4 Zarasoa Macquart 5 Eva Tougne 6 Agnés Nau 7 Léa Guiton, 8 Kiara Vili
Bench: 16 Many Baronne 17 Mankla Dosso 18 Eva Mazzochi 19 Elina Folituu 20 Marine Kazmierczak-Douet 21 Anna Daniel 22 Lise Geneste 23 Cassandra Leteur 24 Mariama Tandiang 25 Maiana Gony 26 Cherrazade Saiki 27 Jade Gamon 28 Margot Sibien
England
15 Daisy Aspinall (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Stafford) 14 Abigail Pritchard (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Medway) 13 Sarah Parry (Hereford College, Worcester) 12 Molly Bunker (Hartpury College, Harlequins, Portsmouth) 11 Grace Banks (Wigan and Leigh, Sale Sharks, Liverpool St Helens) 10 Natalee Evans (Hereford College, Worcester, Flying Kukris) 9 Evie Haskell (The Samworth Church Academy, Loughborough Lightning, Mansfield) 1 Zara Green (Cardinal Newman, Harlequins, Lewes) 2 Lucy Simpson (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Rams) 3 Ruby Winstanley (The Farnborough Sixth Form, Harlequins, Guildfordians) 4 Tamsin Baynes (Loughborough College, Loughborough Lightning, Market Harborough) 5 Kaya Acton (Bishop Burton, Yorkshire, Hull Ionians) 6 Ellie Wilson (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Gosford All Blacks)7 Hayley Jones (Henley College, Thames Valley, Chippenham) 8 Haineala Lutui (RGS Worcester, Worcester)
Bench: 16 Heidi Pashaei Tarighoun (SGS Filton, Bristol Bears, North Bristol) 17 Bethan Candlin (Loughborough College, Yorkshire, Hull Ionians) 18 Aisha Jah (West Notts Sixth Form, Loughborough Lightning, Mansfield)19 Gabriella Brown (Maidstone Grammar, Harlequins, Aylesford Bulls) 20 Jasmine Adonri (City of Oxford, Thames Valley, Medway) 21 Iley Bailey (Henley College, Harlequins, Paderborn Pirates) 22 Isabel van der Straaten (Mossbourne Community Academy, 23 Ashton Adcock (Loughborough College, Loughborough Lightning, Tamworth) 24 Becca Jackson (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Guildfordians) 25 Jessica Doyle (Sacred Heart Sixth Form, Tynedale) 26 Joanne Vosakiwaiwai (City of Oxford, Thames Valley, Andover)
Pluses and Minuses
The shape of the matches is dictated by the players’ age. The first two rounds offered 35-minute games. That allowed the selectors to use all the players in their large squads – priority number one.
The final day doubled the length of matches to 70 minutes, but it still meant a lot of changes in personnel. Incoming players had to get up to speed. One effect was to benefit the sides already in the lead; perhaps no bad thing, but the overall effect was to make the second halves of matches seem disjointed. I doubt the organisers could improve on a structure they have already tested out. Let’s hope all the players found the festival well worthwhile.
Now we await a fully blown Under 20 Six Nations.
