What went wrong at the France-England Game on Friday? As of late Sunday evening, still no official response to the lights-out in Lille on Friday. In its place there are hundreds of comments from all corners. One local tweeter said a 10.30 pm black-out is automatic and wondered if anyone had bothered to tell the
Points arising from the Light Failure in Lille The consequences arising from the abandoned game in Lille range from international level to the personal International: England retain their top spot in world rankings. Simon Middleton expressed his bemusement that they would have relinquished it to New Zealand if they had lost; NZ haven’t played for
Lille, Friday 30 April A totally bizarre finish to this game. On 62 minutes, as Julie Annery returned from a yellow card and Claudia Macdonald had just replaced Leanne Riley, the lights went out. The players hung around as coaches gave earnest instructions for the last twenty minutes, then they were invited off the field
Just like Simon Middleton, Annick Hayraud has rung the changes in her selection to play England in Lille on Friday evening. To some extent her hand was forced, with players returning to the 7s squad, but Romane Ménager unexpectedly remains to provide a major challenge. The Squad: 15 Jessy Trémoulière 14 Caroline Boujard 13 Maëlle
Simon Middleton has caught us on the hop once more. We cannot have expected this line-up for the so-called ‘friendly’ in Lille on Friday evening: 15. Ellie Kildunne (Wasps, 14 caps) 14. Jess Breach (Harlequins, 18 caps) 13. Emily Scarratt (Loughborough Lightning, 95 caps) 12. Sarah McKenna (Saracens, 35 caps) 11. Abby Dow (Wasps, 17
Head coach Simon Middleton has named his England Women’s team for Friday evening’s Women’s Six Nations Exhibition match against France. The Red Roses take on Les Bleues (kick-off 2000 BST, live on BBC iPlayer) at Villeneuve d’Ascq, Lille in a re-run of last Saturday’s Six Nations final which the Red Roses edged 10-6. Captain Sarah
England v France A totally gripping game between two of the finest sides on the planet. The only thing missing was a whirring scoreboard. Defenders stuck to their task heroically; inventive attackers had the greatest difficulty exploiting space. Everyone expected a tight game, few such a low-scoring one. A strong swirling breeze upset the kickers,
The Red Roses clinched their third consecutive Women’s Six Nations title after beating France Women 10-6 at The Stoop. Simon Middleton’s charges overcame Scotland and Italy earlier in the competition before registering a solitary try and penalty against Les Bleues at the home of Harlequins, their eighth successive win over France, and fourteenth without loss
Oh dear! The French selection looks the way every weak-kneed England fan must have feared, hideously strong. Romane Ménager returns at No 8 to nobody’s surprise. It’s when we spot the names Corson and Trémoulière hiding on the bench that we get an idea of the strength of the squad. Annick Hayraud has kept faith
Irish Travel ban The Ireland RFU is seeking urgent talks with its government over plans to introduce a quarantine period on people arriving from France. It would start on Thursday, just two days before the much anticipated clash between Ireland and France at Energia Park Dublin. One alternative receiving active attention is a move to
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