- Written by Seri Coleman Phillips
- BBC Sport Wales at Cardiff Arms Park
Women’s Six Nations: Wales v France |
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Attempt: Deshay, Grisez 2, Menage, Bernier, Fereu Cons: Queyroi 4, Bourgeois |
France, aiming for a Grand Slam, ran away with six tries to hand Wales another heavy defeat in the Women’s Six Nations.
Wales were hoping to fight back after their heavy defeat to Ireland, but once again struggled with accuracy and composure and were unable to pick up a point.
Anael Deschey, Joanna Grisez and Romane Menager scored genius tries in the first half.
Further goals from Gabriel Bernier and Manae Fereu, as well as Grisez’s second goal, made things even more dire for Wales after the break.
France will play defending champions England on April 27th for the title, but Wales are languishing at the bottom of the table with just one loss on the bonus point.
Ioan Cunningham’s side will look to avoid the wooden spoon when they face Italy in the first of three games at the Principality Stadium on Saturday 27 April (12:15 CET) would be.
Wales stressed the need to get off to a good start this week, but an early yellow card for Anne-Cecile Ciofani for a high tackle on home skipper Hannah Jones helped them catch up.
However, Wales were unable to take advantage of this, as the French showed superiority in the scrum, pinning Wales in their own half.
The first try came from a set-piece mistake by Wales, which created a favorable position for Chloe Jacquet to scoop up a fallen lineout and take it into touch.
Wales were slow to reset and Pauline Bourdon-Sansus quickly took a lineout before releasing fast-paced loose-head prop Deshay.
The hosts enjoyed a flurry of pressure after the restart, but as they approached the line it was like déjà vu. A loose pass from Sian Jones was intercepted by Grisez, who ran all over the field.
Wales were dealt a hammer blow 10 minutes into the second half. They had a put-in at the scrum, but the ball went out to Teani Fereu. Seeing there was no one home on his blindside, Teani Fereu broke and left it to Menage, who ran 60 meters and scored.
Wales, needing to start the second half on a positive note, kept putting themselves under pressure with their lack of discipline.
With the French having good possession and territory, Bernier carved a beautiful line and got under the post to score a bonus point.
Cunningham made early changes, with Kyra Bevan, Jasmine Joyce and Gwennan Hopkins, who made an impressive debut last weekend, entering the fray.
It was the story of Wales’ campaign, with Sicilia Tuipulotu leading the way and Luc George almost putting Kayleigh Powell in with a cross-field kick. Wales were unable to win their attack. chance.
France had no problems in this department, with a strong carry from their forwards allowing captain Manae Ferreux to cross the line for his fifth try.
Immediately after the end of the game, the visitors were reduced to 14 men again after a high tackle on George by Assia Karfaoui, but they continued to find space and played as a confident team. , it hardly mattered.
The afternoon was summed up by Wales looking to score in the closing stages, but Grisez gratefully picked up a reckless bounced pass from Katherine Richards and pounced for her second goal.
With the clock ticking red, France were reduced to 14 men for the third time. This time it was due to an intentional knock-on by Jaquet.
But that hardly mattered as the French enjoyed a near-perfect afternoon in the Cardiff sunshine.
Wales: Kayley Powell; Katherine Richards, Hannah Jones (Captain), Carys Cox, Courtney Keate. Luke George, Sian Jones. Gwenllian Pears, Carys Phillips, Cicilia Tuipulotu, Abbie Fleming, Natalia John, Alicia Butchers, Alex Callender, Georgia Evans.
Replacement: Molly Reardon, Abbie Constable, Donna Rose, Kate Williams, Gwennan Hopkins, Keira Bevan, Molly Wilkinson, Jasmine Joyce.
France: Emily Boulard. Joanna Grisez, Chloe Jacquet, Gabriel Vernier, Anne-Cecile Ciofani. Lina Keiroi, Pauline Bourdon Sansus.Anael Deshay, Agathe Socha, Asia Karfaoui, Manae Fereu (Captain), Charlotte Escudero, Romane Menage, Emmeline Gros, Teani Fereu
Replacement: Elisa Riphonneau, Ambre Mwembe, Clara Joyeux, Madousou Fall, Gaël Hermette, Alexandra Chambon, Lina Thuy, Morganne Bourgeois
official
Referee: Holly Davidson (SRU)
assistant: Clara Munarini (FIR), Maria Latos (GER)
TMO: Matteo Ripperini (FIR)
FPRO: Brian McNeice (IRFU)