ROCKY CLARK
WORLD CUP WINNER
What an encounter! It promised to be special and it didn't disappoint. Two of the top teams in the world battling it out on the world stage for bragging rights, and to edge a step closer to winning Pool C in the Women's Rugby World Cup.
In front of a vibrant crowd, in one of the games of the tournament, the England and French rivalry was fierce and provided a far tougher test for Simon Middleton's side than last week's win against Fiji. But they found a way to grind out victory to stretch their winning run to 27 games under the leadership of Sarah Hunter. She equalled my cap record of 137 and in the next game will be the most capped England player. Not a better player to hand over the baton to, a friend and great teammate.
Middleton elected to go with largely the same team that played against Fiji with just one change. Marlie Packer, the in-form flanker, recovered after her foot injury in training and replaced Sadia Kabeya, the young back rower who had picked up a niggle this week. The return of Packer was influential to how England played and the ferocity at which she carried, tackled and slowed down the French ball was key for England's dominance.
It took England 23 minutes to unlock the French defence with a try from unshakable stalwart Emily Scarratt on a hard switch line. France's defence in the first half put England under unfamiliar pressure that they had to stay patient and stick to process to create rare chances.
France's casualties came early when injuries to Laure Sansus and Romaine Ménager meant they were without their two best players for the majority of the game. Stand out player from France was Gabrielle Vernier whose defence repelled many an England attack and kept opposite number Scarratt at bay.
One of the stand out players for England was Alex Matthews, who made 14 carries in the first half. Her work rate and physicality to break down the French was crucial to England building pressure. England flyer Claudia MacDonald had flashes of brilliance as she looked for work off her wing and made hard yards against a relentless French defence.
Once again, England's unstoppable lineout drive was a big factor in gaining momentum and a foothold into the game. The French ill-discipline in the South Africa game was a real focus for them not to give away cheap territory to England's monstrous maul.
England changed tact this game and threw to the back to either use the maul as a springboard to play off, or go quickly off the top to unleash the backline. England's scrum has notoriously been under pressure the last few years, yet it has been a different story under the reign of Louis Deacon, the Red Roses forwards coach who has turned the likes of world class player Sarah Bern into a bulldozer of a prop in the loose and showing dominance in the scrum alongside powerhouses Amy Cokayne and Vickii Cornborough.
This was always going to be a fantastic battle as both teams have a similar style of players – they both have big ball carrying forwards and speedy illusive backs. The difference being, England are a bit more structured and France like to play the ball a bit more so it was exciting to see how both teams coped with each other's attack.
You only have to look at the quality of the substitutes to know how good these sides are. France equal England's calibre of world class players on the bench with the likes of Gail Hermet the French Captain, Safi N'dye, and Pauline Bourdon, while England had the Six Nations player of the tournament, Poppy Cleall, Hannah Botterman and speedster Abby Dow who all have the ability to change the game.
England's attack changed from the ‘out the back' plays from the forwards to hard running into the defence to try to shorten them up. The England pack were carrying on the gain line to try and create momentum to play from and that coupled with Zoe Harrison's exemplary kicking meant England played in the right areas.
It was clear France had done their homework on the Red Roses from that Fiji game and knew where England's threats were. They shut down the Red Roses wave of attacks with dominant, aggressive two woman tackles to repel England's desire for front foot ball. Testament to the French defence was England's possession percentage of 73, with France making 127 tackles compared to England's 35 in the first half.
England went in the half time break 10-0, but had to wait until the 63rd minute to get more points on the board. A rare French attack was hampered by unforced handling errors, however the bit of possession they did have they played with tempo and kept the ball alive which posed threats to England.
An area for concern for head coach Middleton is the breakdown; a number of English penalties came from holding on. The Red Roses will need to do work on ball presentation and accurate clear-outs to prevent giving away possession. This is an area that other teams will closely be looking at to try and stem the onslaught of the English attack.
After this bruising encounter I think we will see the rotation of players to allow for Middleton's strongest side to recover and to give other players exposure and opportunity to make their mark this World Cup. As always Le Crunch lived up to its name.
