The incredible enthusiasm, Khalfaoui's red card... The crushes and claws after France-England

In Bordeaux

FAVORITES

One thing is certain, this England is ready for the next World Cup which it will host in 2025. The “Red Roses”, as they are nicknamed, won their 20th Tournament and their 17th Grand Slam, even going on to a 15th consecutive success since their defeat in the World Cup final against New Zealand. Imperial. Despite a French public on fire, whistling them as they returned to the locker room, the English women, overpowering, did not tremble and showed unfailing serenity, even at the end of the match dominated by the French team . Through simple play, based on physical challenge and devastating mauls, the reigning world vice-champions mastered the Blues. It must be remembered that the Rose players are professional and it shows. French women's rugby has good times ahead of it but will perhaps have to draw inspiration from the English model to move forward in the future.

Certainly, the French team was dominated on certain fundamentals of this game. But catching with bleeding tackles, the Blue showed character. Constantly trailing by the score, the players of the Mignot-Ortiz duo often caused damage on offshore attacks, notably with good tries from Vernier then Marine Ménager, twice. At 14 after the red card conceded by Khalfaoui, the France team attempted several shots, causing havoc in the opposing defense and depriving the Red Roses of the ball at the end of the match.

Certainly, we were far from the 58,498 spectators at Twickenham on April 29 – absolute record – between these two teams (defeat of the Blue 38-33). But this Saturday at the Chaban-Delmas stadium in Bordeaux, the attendance record for a women's rugby match in France was broken, with 28,023 tickets sold. And despite the rain and the defeat, the French and English supporters largely responded. Already two hours before kick-off, an impressive number of spectators were waiting in front of the gates. The atmosphere even rose 1h30 into the match when the Blues gathered under difficult weather conditions in the middle of the pitch. A craze that is pleasing, even if we can regret the almost simultaneous programming with the Top 14 multiplex…

CLAW STRIKES

The Blues suffered. Suffered a lot. First the rain, due to very unpredictable weather. Then the storm on the lawn. Physically, the French team fell back on impacts, missing too many tackles. Reduced to 14, Bourdon Sansus' teammates then chased the score. The six tries in the hands of the Rose players hurt and the heavy score still shows that the Blues are still a step behind their opponent of the day. The players of the Mignot-Ortiz duo suffered another setback against England, the last French victory dating back to 2018.

The French full-back had saved the furniture twice and offered herself on multiple occasions in the Blue attack line. But Emilie Boulard made a largely avoidable error, which cost seven points (24th). On a bad inspiration, the Blagnac player attempted a restart while she was under pressure. Even worse, she attempted a risky transmission and was punished by the anticipation of the English center Jones. However, it is difficult to blame her, as she largely held the house during the competition.

The pillar completed a titanic tournament. Thanks to good post-contact passes, impeccable scrum handling and impressive activity, Assia Khalfaoui received a yellow card transformed into a red card after a bunker for a dangerous clearance and in the head of the Englishwoman Talling (45th) . Her absence was then felt and her power was lacking even if her teammates showed solidarity. But the 23-year-old continues to learn and has a bright future.