France’s Women’s XV is set with New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup Semi-Final – Liberation

Minimum service completed for France’s women’s XV. Conquering Italy (39-3) thanks to a hat-trick from winger Joanna Griese, the Blues advanced to the semi-finals. Where armed opponents other than the Italians await them. None the less world champions, the New Zealanders (who beat the Welsh 55-3), who would also benefit from playing at home at Temple Eden Park in Auckland.

Video match summary

“We had a fairly great game: we ran the first half very well when we were upwind, we kept that, and then, in the second half, we said to ourselves we had to drop the horses and that’s exactly what we were doing.”The Blue Team Leader rejoiced after the meeting. As is often the case between these two formations, which were their fourth encounter this year, the match took place in a tense atmosphere, given the stakes but also the total knowledge one had of the other. Both the French and Italian women were initially caught in the wrong rhythm, during a meeting that took the time to transition from a slow, tedious tone to the more playful, circling tone the crowd had right to expect from a World Cup quarter-final.

So it was necessary to wait almost an hour of play for the French to finally free themselves, after a penalty attempt awarded by the match referee, Scott Holly Davidson. But the first try of the match came very quickly, after a wonderful recovery from Emily Pollard, the elected player of the match. Part of 22 meters to sneak into the Italian defence, he only had to give the test to Grizzies between the posts (7-0, 3). But the rest of the first period was not at the same level, as French women often confuse speed with haste. Often punished and losing a lot of balls, they fail to embody their territorial dominance (65%).

Italy, who were so motivated in their first World Cup quarter-finals, boys and girls alike, more than resisted, defending hard (20 tackles by Francesca Sgorbini alone), until they managed to score the first three points – and only (7-3). , 39).

Upon his return from the locker room, the French were denied three attempts, until the referee awarded them a penalty kick, following a yellow card penalizing Silvia Turani (20-3, 63). For opener Caroline Drouin, this complicated situation to manage could have hurt the French ‘We didn’t panic: I guess that’s where we grew up too’.

Released and with a numerical superiority, Blue then released, sequentially three attempts by the hooker Laure Touyé, who had just taken part (65th), and by Grisez (68th, 70th), to finally dissuade the match.