England 38 – 19 France: Red Roses Dominant in Six Try Triumph over Les Bleus in Gloucester
09/07/2024 10:53 AM
England and France met in a WXV warm-up Test over in Gloucester this afternoon, with the two European heavyweights leaving it all on the line in their battle at Kingsholm. The Red Roses crossed over for six tries in this high-scoring encounter, with England extending their run of dominance over their Six Nations rivals to 14-consecutive victories.
This was an important Test in all matters of the word for John Mitchell’s team, as they found their top gear, heading in next week’s fixture against the Black Ferns, and before jetting out to Canada for a trio of matches in WXV1.
France had the overwhelming majority of attacking field possession for the first 10 minutes, but it was England who managed to strike first over the try line. The move started from an electric line-break from high-flying Harlequin Ellie Kildunne, who wheeled around the outside of the French back-line.
Kildunne then shipped the ball wide to Jess Breach out on the left wing, with the Saracens star fired downfield. The wing was halted close to the try line, with England captain Marlie Packer on hand to take control of the ball, and muscle her way over the try-line with drive from close range. The opening score was well converted by Holly Aitchison, as the Red Roses established a seven point lead.
The pendulum of momentum swung in England’s favour, as the Red Roses gained steady traction into the French half. The second try of the afternoon was once again started by Kildunne, with the Great Britain Sevens star not missing a beat upon her return to the 15-a-side game.
Kildunne’s searching break along the right wing was halted by a trio of blue shirts, with the ball promptly shipped back in-field towards Maddie Feaunati. The Exeter flanker threw a neat half-step to evade the first tackler, and sent a lovely pass out wide to Jess Breach, and the try-line beckoned for the wing. It went from bad to worse for France, as hooker Agathe Sochat was sent to the sin bin for deliberately knocking the ball out of Natasha Hunt’s hands at the back of a breakdown.
England would immediately capitalise upon the extra player advantage, and were over for their third try of the first half. The Red Roses set-up a rolling maul from the line-out, but opted against pushing over their tried and tested method of attack. Instead, Hunt shipped the ball to a cascading Tatyana Heard, with the centre popping off the offload to her new-found midfield partner Helena Rowland, who weaved her way to score under the posts. Aitchison’s conversion extended England’s lead to 19-0 at the break.
England went to their well rehearsed playbook for their fourth try, as John Mitchell’s side played the hits at Kingsholm. The Red Roses were awarded a penalty three minutes after the break, and Holly Aitchison sent an inch-perfect kick to touch for the set-piece. Packer got her hands on the ball at the back of the pack, as the forwards forced France back beyond their try-line for the score.
England’s four unanswered scores finally saw a retaliation, as France opened their account with a try just two minutes later. Upon returning from the sin bin, Sochat collected the ball on England’s 5m line at the back of a maul, faked to pass to the backs, with Amy Cokayne sold by the dummy. Sochat shimmied her way past the England front row, before diving down for the try.
However, this slight resurgence of French attack was short-lived, as England extended their lead to 31-7 three minutes later. Following a massive shift from the centre field scrum, the ball was quickly flung wide to Breach, and the hot-stepping winger evaded the tackle attempt from Cyrielle Banet to score her second try in the corner.
Amongst all the discussion around England’s forward pack strength, France gave the Red Roses a taste of their own capabilities up front. Les Bleus shunted England back beyond their own try-line with a monstrous scrum, with the loose ball dove upon by number eight Romane Menager, to narrow down the deficit to 31-14 at the hour mark.
A third try was then added under the Packer name, yet it was not the England captain who grabbed a hat-trick. Shortly after coming off the bench for Hunt, Lucy Packer commanded her troops forward, with Emily Scarratt and Alex Matthews both halted close to the try-line. Packer’s wherewithal to spot the smallest gap played dividends, as the halfback sniped at the back of a ruck, and added another five-pointer from close range. Aitchison’s conversion brought up a 36-14 lead to the Red Roses.
The yo-yoing continued from a scoring perspective, as replacement back Pauline Bourdon Sansus scored a stunning solo try. The halfback picked up a loose ball on the England 22m, and darted her way along the left touchline, with the fatiguing red Roses unable to keep up with the supercharged Stade Toulousain scrum half. Despite having just conceded the England fans then erupted in support, as replacement lock Lilli Ives Campion made her Test debut with 10 minutes remaining.
There was a debutant amongst the ranks for the Red Roses, with Loughborough Lightning talent Lilli Ives Campion earning her first appearence for England. The lock is the former captain of the England U20 Women’s team, and was called up by John Mitchell following the litany of England’s second row injuries with Cath O’Donnell, Abby Ward and Rosie Galligan all missing this fixture against France.
Campion came off the bench to a thunderous ovation, with plenty of excitement around the newest face in the Red Roses set-up. The lock was only given 10 minutes to make her mark at Kinsgholm, which she took with a handful of solid carries and worked well around the park defensively too.
2. Maddie Feaunati shines on her first England start
One of the most talked about stars of the Red Roses squad, Maddie Feaunati earned her first start today for John Mitchell’s side. Coming in to start in the injury absence of regular blindside flanker Saida Kebeya, Feaunati built upon her five previous England caps with her first run out from the off.
Feaunati worked excellently to assist Jess Breach’s first try, as she shipped a nice flat pass wide to the explosive wing. Feaunati also had her own opportunity to stretch her legs and showcase her pace, as she broke away down field for a 31st minute break. But what captured the hearts and minds of England fans was Feaunati’s tackling, with the hard-hitting Chief putting her body on the line time and again for the Red Roses, and looked like an example setting replacement for the vacant Kabeya.
