Two weeks after the end of the Men's Tournament, the players of the French rugby team began theirs, Saturday March 23 in Le Mans, against Ireland. In the Marie-Marvingt stadium, the Tricolores easily won 38 to 17, scoring five tries. The XV of France had an ideal start to the match. Pauline Bourdon-Sansus, taking advantage of a gap in defense close to the ball, flattened between the poles after only three minutes of play (7-0). The Toulousaine was again in action a few minutes later, serving Marine Ménager on a well-felt chistera. The latter was quick to exploit the gap to score a second try before the break (17-3, 39th).
The score could have been heavier if the Tricolores, wanting to impose speed and rhythm, had not increased the number of poorly adjusted passes – 34 hand errors. In front of the Irish try line, the Blues sometimes lacked efficiency, like a handball two meters from the Irish goal. But that didn't stop them from progressing in the second half. The strong attempts of Madoussou Fall (47th, 24-3) and Agathe Sochat (62nd, 31-3) confirmed the domination of the French forward pack. The Irish tried to resist, scoring two opportunistic tries (Aoide Wafer in the 71st and O'Brien in the 78th), without worrying the Blues.
“This victory already means that we have entered the competition. We will lead match after match with the desire to win this Tournament,” reacted forward Madoussou Fall at the end of the match, speaking to France Televisions. If this match will serve as a good introduction, the Blues have a good margin of progress before facing the English scarecrow. The Red Roses are once again the big favorites for the Tournament, 18 months before the World Cup (August 22 - September 27, 2025) in England.
England scarecrow figure
To finally overthrow the English, victorious in the last five editions of the Tournament for as many grand slams, the Blue will have the advantage this year of receiving three times. Last year, the Tricolores came close to winning (38-33) in a match played in front of 58,498 spectators at Twickenham, a world record for a women's match.
Their duel will initially take place remotely, since the Blues – who have not been crowned since 2018 in the Six Nations Tournament – will face the Red Roses at the close of the Tournament, on April 27, in Bordeaux. By then the shadow of the British will hover over their heads. The hooker Agathe Sochat, quoted by Agence-France-Presse (AFP) lucidly summed up the challenge of this first match: “gain confidence during the first four matches to arrive liberated against the English”.
This victory against Ireland revives the Blues, after a chaotic course this fall in “WXV”, a new competition created by World Rugby. After beating the New Zealand “Black Ferns” (18-17), the Blues fell into the trap of Australia (29-20) then Canada (29-20). A nation that they had largely beaten (36-0) a year earlier in the match for third place in the World Cup. The Red Roses did not let up, adding a new trophy to their rich record. “We also grow thanks to these defeats, it allowed us to learn lessons […] We try to create automatisms between us as much as possible and that is what can make us strong in this Tournament”, confided Pauline before the Tournament Bourdon Sansus, interviewed by AFP.
The 2025 World Cup in the viewfinder
Because if the French team keeps an eye on England – the team – in the Tournament, their eyes are mainly focused on England – the territory –, seat of the 2025 World Cup, in 18 months. “We want girls who dare, who try, while being carefree,” assured co-selector Gaëlle Mignot before the start of the Tournament, emphasizing the “desire to produce a spectacle, to create excitement around our team so that people would want to cross the Channel to come and see us play in England”.
For the selectors, one question remains to be resolved: who will lead the Blues during the World Cup? Jessy Trémoulière (31 years old, 78 caps) retired from international football last year and left a void. Against Ireland on Saturday afternoon, it was Lina Queyroi who was on the bench after the injury to Caroline Drouin, who started in 10 during the last World Cup – but focused on the VII of France in sight of the Olympic Games. The contract of the day is fulfilled, but we will have to wait until the next match, Saturday March 30 (3:15 p.m.), against Scotland, to see a lasting contribution take shape.
