And they were
6 Nations – Round 3 – Saturday Games Ireland v England
Virgin Media Park, Cork
English players and staff have been heard saying they want to face competition, to be tested to the full.
Ireland provided just that, but for the first 55 minutes only. Across the first half they gave England their biggest strife since the last Canada game in Vancouver.
Right at the start Dannah O’Brien switched direction to plant a kick deep into the left corner.
When England got their hands on the ball, they showed their usual confident deft combinations, then Zoe Harrison slid a wicked ball through on the opposite diagonal. Neither move worked out.
O’Brien’s second long kick caught the defence too close up; they had to scramble back and Abby Dow was forced into touch.
Ireland maintained huge pressure, making a ground-eating drive, then Linda Djougang went for the line; the defences held out but at the cost of a penalty. Another massive push, now aided by some backs, was still held by England, who won the put-in. Would these early failures to convert possession into points prove costly?
In their turn Ireland showed their mettle by stopping a promising England attack, then driving them off the ball.
A summary of the first quarter: Ireland 60% possession, England dominant at the scrum; score 0-0.
A high tackle by Erin King on Hannah Botterman proved costly; much ground was lost, and England returned to the red zone. Two defensive penalties brought a warning for skipper Amee-leigh Costigan. To confirm Ireland’s recent advance, they halted a drive, won a turnover and cleared.
On 24 minutes the shackles were finally broken. A perfect running kick by O’Brien bounced into the hands of Costigan, who was almost over the line already. 5-0
Some game!
Another O’Brien kick seemed a winner, but Aoife Dalton was off-side. That had consequences” from the penalty the English pack at last got their maul together, and Morwenna Talling had the last touch. 5-7
So tight was the encounter that the scoreboard went on strike right up to the break.
Half-time: Ireland 5 England 7
Like so many low-scoring duels, this game was intense beyond belief. Both sides put such pressure on the ball-carrier that open-play was rarely an option. But Ireland had had the benefit of the conditions till now; would they be able to withstand English pressure, especially when benches were emptied?
The Red Roses restarted fluently. Jess Breach had her first run to the corner (on the right), but did Costigan catch her in time. Final verdict: yes, no try! A brilliant saving tackle, with the flagpole suffering violent injury.
It was non-stop drama. O’Brien cleared twice: first Ellie Kildunne ran one back, then the ball landed in open country. England twice knocked on under pressure.
But a weakness evident near the start now took its toll. Niamh O’Dowd saw yellow for repeated scrummage offences. During her absence the Red Roses scored twice, but not at once.
As they marched forward, Tatyana Heard tried a rare grubber. It didn’t work. O’Brien kicked deep and safe. For the moment it wasn’t England’s day; Breach made a break down the left, chipped ahead, but Kildunne couldn’t regain the ball.
Now came their second try. They went back to basics: secure passes, quick recycles, then as the ball spread wide, Hannah Botterman sent a wonderful pull-back pass to Harrison, who spotted a door opening and walked through. 5-14
On 52 minutes John Mitchell sent on a new front row plus Lucy Packer. The result, a ‘proper’ England try. The ball was worked wide to Abby Dow, then back inside to Meg Jones and over. 5-21
After this trip to the repair shop, England really buzzed. Every pass was accepted, whether accurate or not, and the backs shifted the ball so fast that Sarah Bern, the part-time centre, found herself diving over the line for the bonus-winning try, her 25th. 5-28
England’s ball movement accelerated, and Bern was over for her second. The crowd was much quieter now. Could Ireland re-establish themselves? 5-35
Not by kicking the ball dead! Nicole Fowley’s first contribution was not what she wanted. Instead, it was Kildunne’s turn. She received the ball in open play, then danced her way past tackles to dot down under the posts, her 41st offering. 5-42
Into the last quarter, and Kelsey Clifford’s debut try came from a half-break and off-load by Holly
Aitchison; the strength of the bench once more proving conclusive. 5-49
As Ireland came bravely again, Kildunne was lucky that a one-handed interception was deemed
worth a penalty only. Why not a yellow? For once the TMO stayed mum.
But the game was long beyond rescue; another 40-minute performance by the visitors.
Result: Ireland 5 England 49
Player of the Match: Maud Muir
Referee: Aurélie Groizeleau (FFR)
Attendance: 7,754 (a ground record)
Teams:
Ireland
1 O’Dowd 2 N. Jones 3 Djougang 4 Tuite 5 Wall 6 Hogan 7 King 8 Wafer 9 Lane 10 O’Brien 11 Costigan (captain) 12 Higgins 13 Dalton 14 McGann 15 Flood
16 Moloney 17 McCarthy 18 Haney 19 Campbell 20 Moore 21 Reilly 22 Fowley 23 Elmes Kinlan
England
1 Botterman 2 Atkin-Davies 3 Muir 4 Talling 5 Ward 6 Aldcroft (captain) 7 Kabeya 8 Matthews 9 Hunt 10 Harrison 11 Breach 12 Heard 13 Jones 14 Dow 15 Kildunne
16 Cokayne 17 Clifford 18 Bern 19 Galligan 20 Feaunati 21 L. Packer 22 Aitchison
France v Wales
Stade Amédée-Domenech, Brive
After a bright morning the weather turned sour and wet for the match, the crowd well wrapped up.
France v Wales (Photo Women’s 6 Nations)
The Welsh weakness I had feared reared its head early: France got first touch to two line-outs. They caught their own first throw, drove it, and Carla Arbez sent up a perfect cross-kick to Emilie Boulard, now restored to the left wing. She took it in full flight to score, just like Dow a fortnight ago. Jasmine Joyce-Butchers was metres out of position. 7-0
That was the first try within five minutes – largely caused by Welsh failures in basic skills. They added a third wonky line-out inside the first eight minutes.
As the rain worsened, Carys Phillips threw in accurately; the Welsh pack had five goes at the line; the last one, by Kate Williams, successful. Keira Bevan pulled her conversion. 7-5
As expected, the Welsh scrum was coming under huge pressure. Curiously, when offered a penalty 35 metres out, France opted for a kick at goal. The normally reliable Morgane Bourgeois missed.
Now some punishing one-off drives by the French pack brought a second try. The ball sped left to Boulard, and she had her second. This time Bourgeois had no problems from the edge. 14-5
Amidst boos the referee told Manaé Feleu that Yllana Brosseau was boring in. Jenni Scoble needed treatment again.
Gwen Crabb scored after another drive, and Holly Wood gave a final warning. 14-12
That was a distinct boost for Cymru, but it couldn’t last.
Another set of punishing French drives at the line followed, but a Rose Bernadou try was scrubbed off for a loss of control over the line.
Right on the break Manon Bigot gave les Bleues some breathing space.
Half-time: 21-12
As in the Cork game, the stronger team made its presence felt in the second half. The French pack made some huge drives, the last by Manaé Feleu. 28-12
At once Sean Lynn replaced Phillips with Kelsey Jones.
The third quarter was exhausting – to play and to watch. The many good combinations were matched by errors. The wet ball had a good laugh.
On 60 minutes Courtney Keight scored after a big drive. Then it was written off because Abbie Fleming had obstructed at the line-out.
It will take crowds some time to get used to the idea of not roaring in delight as their side scores – not until the TMO has scavenged through all the evidence – another way in which the game is not being speeded up, however law-abiding the judgement may be.
Yet another massive French attack ended with a knock-on over the line! We must bear the conditions in mind, but the handling errors were kind to the opposition.
Amid the many team-changes some argy-bargy reflected players’ frustrations. The referee lost patience with the Welsh scrum and ran under the posts. 35-12
The young prop Maisie Davies suffered a yellow card for her pains.
As the game aged, so French dominance grew. More painful drives led to a final try by Léa Champon.
Result: France Wales: 42-12
Player of the Match: Manon Bigot
Referee: Holly Wood (RFU)
Teams:
France
1 Brosseau 2 Bigot 3 Bernadou 4 M. Feleu (co-captain) 5 Fall Raclot 6 Escudero 7 Okemba 8 T. Feleu 9 Bourdon Sansus 10 Arbez 11 Boulard 12 Amédée 13 M. Ménager (co-captain) 14 Arbey 15 Bourgeois
16 Riffonneau 17 Mwayembe 18 Khalafaoui 19 Zago 20 Bertoumieu 21 Champon 22 Bordes 23 Queyroi
Wales
1 G. Pyrs 2 Philllips 3 Scoble 4 Fleming 5 Crabb 6 K. Wlliams 7 Lewis 8 Evans 9 Bevan 10 Powell 11 Cox 12 Keight 13 H. Jones (captain) 14 Neumann 15 Joyce
16 K. Jones 17 M. Davies 18 Rose 19 John 20 A. Pyrs 21 King 22 S. Jones 23 Metcalfe
Afterthoughts:
It’s easy to overlook France’s superiority over all the other five nations bar England. In that respect they are now unbeaten since the start of the 2020 season, 19 wins, 1 draw. Yet despite this clear victory there were few signs they could raise their game to the heights needed to gain those elusive targets, another Grand Slam and a first World Cup trophy.
Wales did well to hold them to two tries each by half-time, but the old weaknesses persist: too little cohesion and pace out behind; first receivers taking the ball from a standing start, very inaccurate line-outs, and so on. They had a decent-looking (third) try written off, but rarely looked capable of earning a second championship point.
Table Top
England 15 points
France 14 points
Ireland 5 points
If Scotland win tomorrow, they rise to third place with 8 or 9 points
