Scotland v France England’s greatest rivals in Europe look far from the finished product. France struggled to get the better of a reborn Scottish side. They remain unbeaten in Scotland since 2010, but rarely have they had to work so hard for victory. At half time Scotland were ahead 5-3. France managed their second try
Round Two Saturday Games There are two Saturday games this weekend Scotland v France, The Hive, Edinburgh; KO 14.15 Teams Scotland 15 Meryl Smith 14 Rhona Lloyd 13 Emma Orr 12 Lisa Thomson 11 Coreen Grant 10 Helen Nelson 9 Caity Mattinson 1 Leah Bartlett 2 Elis Martin 3 Christine Belisle 4 Emma Wassell 5
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
Ireland’s first outing under the new regime in the 6 Nations could hardly be more testing. But at least the opposition is missing one or two key players. France seem to be permanently short of first-choice wingers. The one uncapped player in the starting XV this time is Kelly Arbey, a 19-year-old from Stade Toulousain
Only four days after publishing their 2024 Six Nations team did FFR announce their captain. Manae Feleu was again honoured. The English tend to appoint their captains according to seniority. The last exception I can recall was Will Carling, then 22. At the moment Marlie Packer is in charge. She can look back across 99
The French management has gone its own way again, and good luck to them. They have announced a squad of 32 for the first two Six Nations games only, against Ireland and Scotland (see full list below). So far as the public goes, the names of the backs might have been drawn out of a
Once more the French management has taken the unusual step of separating forwards and backs for initial training sessions. Eighteen forwards have been selected for a two-day session on 6-7 March. They are: Rose Bernadou (FFR/Montpellier) Axelle Berthoumieu (FFR/Blagnac) Manon Bigot (Blagnac) Léa Champon (AOL/Grenoble Amazones) Annaëlle Deshayes (FFR/Stade Bordelais) Charlotte Escudero (FFR/Stade Toulousain) Manae
We’ve reached a break in major test rugby. The WXV, completed in November, meant no autumn tests and shunted the start of the European leagues back a month or more. HSBC Sevens have got under way in Dubai, but Super Aupiki in New Zealand won’t start till March next year. That’s when the Six Nations
Canada v France I shouldn’t call this the third topsy-turvy result of the series, but pre-match France had looked the out-and-out winners. No, the two nations have been competing for that third place in the world hierarchy for a long time. Today the Maple Leafs put on a show to remember. France won the first
A recent presentation by French rugby is most revealing. It is entitled ‘Future under Construction’. So it confirms the management’s policy of taking the strategic view. Their eyes are set firmly on the next World Cup and are willing to accept bumps in the road ahead. The first big bump was the loss to Australia.
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