Rugby: the Blues are trapped by the Australians

After its inaugural victory against New Zealand, the French women's XV suffered a surprising setback against Australia (29-20) on Saturday in Dunedin (New Zealand) during the WXV, a new international tournament. It is a poor performance for France, third nation in the world and third in the last World Cup, against Australia (5th), who remained on a correction inflicted on them by England during the first match of this WXV (42-7).

The Blues, too imprecise, were surprised from the start by a try from Eva Karpani (3rd), who scored two others (51st, 70th) and largely contributed to the success of the Wallaroos. Trailing by 19 points in the second period, the French woke up too late thanks to tries from Elisa Riffonneau (74th) and Gabrielle Vernier (80th 2) to finally lose by nine points (29-20). France failed to continue in this tournament after winning 18-17 against New Zealand, the reigning world champion, last Saturday in Wellington. A revenge for the Blues on the Black Ferns a year after their elimination in the semi-final of the World Cup (25-24).

After the New Zealanders and the Australians, the French women will conclude their tournament on November 4 against the Canadians, fourth in the world rankings, whom they beat for third place at the World Cup last year. The WXV (October 21-November 4) is a new competition created by the governing body of world rugby. It has three divisions, France finds itself in the first which pits the six best nations against each other.