Key events
Let’s talk turkey, shall we? France should be two scores up at least given the territory and number of 22 entries, and they are hammering England out wide.
Aside from the opportunism for the Kildunne try, England have done pretty much nothing with the ball other than drop it while in a dreadful attacking shape. If it wasn’t for Meg Jones and Hannah Botterman’s breakdown efforts it would be much worse.
Having said that, the Red Roses are ahead and their wrecking ball bench will come into play soon.
Half Time! France 5 – 7 England
40 mins. England win the scrum and Harrison bunts the ball to touch to end the half.
39 mins. Champon wins a jackal pen for her team that allows Arbez to find a good touch in the English 22. The lineout goes to the back but it’s knocked on by France.
37 mins. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but France are up to the 22 and waste the territory; this time it’s via Botterman getting over the ball to win a jackal penalty.
35 mins. Back come France and they are on the 22 in the middle of the park. Bourgeois looks right and sees Menager in a french farmer’s square kilometre of space and flings a MISS-THREE (?!) pass that she catches and runs in. But it’s forward! It just needed to go through hands as well! Another wasted opportunity which will no doubt be very important to the overall dramatic arc of the match.
33 mins. Menager gathers a fabulous box kick from Bourdon Sansus in the England half that creates the opportunity for an inside offload to Bourgeois to have a clear run to the line. But the winger delays the pass a little too long and ends up lobbing it forward under the pressure of a Kindunne tackle.
That was a 24 carat, massive block of gold of a chance for Les Bleues. Butchered.
31 mins. England mince the French scrum to win a penalty and from the resulting lineout the Red Roses start the punishing carries. The blue defence holds them and eventually turn it over for Bourdon Sansus to boot clear.
Kildunne runs it back but more imprecision in attack from the home team has them losing the ball and ruining their own possession.
England have been pretty poor with the ball, it has to be said.
28 mins. England form a maul of hideous portent for the French defence. It moves ominously forward in the 22 and the ball is released into midfield for Heard to juggle it before gathering and running over the line to ground. It looked like a knock on from someone and the ref checks it and agrees. No try, the ball was forward off Vernier then Heard.
France will have to defend a scrum on their own 5m line.
TRY! France 5 – 7 England (Nassira Konde)
23 mins. Arbey, who has been one of France’s best players is away up the left touchline and into the England half. After the tackle is made the ball is worked all the way back to the right where Menager throws a one handed offload over her head to Vernier who is stopped inches short. For a moment, it looks like France have ruined the chance as the their forward huff and puff around the ruck, before the ball is finally released to the back for Konde to dive in.
Bourgeois pulls the conversion left of the posts.
21 mins. A good kick from Arbez has France in a good attacking position that they work up to the 22. Arbez has a strong run up to the five metre line but Meg Jones is in once more to rip the ball away and it’s cleared to touch.
France win the lineout, but the ball won’t come out of the maul they form and England are awarded a relieving scrum. It offers even more relief when France have a penalty awarded against their front row.
The officials for today’s match, by the way:
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Referee Maggie Cogger-Orr
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Assistant Referee 1 Clara Munarini
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Assistant Referee 2 Kat Roche
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TV Match Official Rachel Horton
16 mins. Meg Jones does some marvellous work and the breakdown to clamp on after another lateral attacking attempt from France. THe penalty is awarded, but in what has been the story of the half so far, the ball is knocked on by the Red Roses, this time in the lineout.
14 mins. France settle into a period of possession, which sees them execute multiple phases that are contained easily by the English defence. There is a sniff of space on the right that Menager moves through, but as the covering tackle hits her the ball spills forward from her hands.
12 mins. A smorgasbord of knock-ons from both sides means very little gets moving. We’re largely stuck in the middle third of the field.
10 mins. A sequence of scrum resets has the ref having a word with both front rows to sort it out. Eventually, the ball is won and out from France, but they lose it one phase later.
8 mins. France will comfort themselves that the try was something of a upstart counter attack rather than reflective of the early pattern of the game. On their next attack, Bourdon Sansus is caught high in the tackle around halfway and they opt to take a scrum rather than kick to touch. Bold.
TRY! France 0 – 7 England (Ellie Kildunne)
5 mins. Bourdon Sansus puts a sensible angled kick long into the England 22. Or at least it would be sensible of it wasn’t Kildunne running it back, who steps off her left foot three times, each time beating a French defender. The ball is lost, but Les Bleues are untidy in a ruck around halfway and the England backs grab it and work quickly left through hands to Kildunne again, this time on the left touchline, who puts on the gas and races in from forty metres.
Harrison converts.
2 mins. The ball floats towards mid-way in the England half, but the gather is fumbled forward to give France an early scrum in opposition territory. There is nudge on from the blues and Feleu scoops the ball out and sets off on a big run up to the 22. They move it left to Arbey who busts into the red zone, but France are pinged for entering the ruck from the side.
Kick Off!
Carla Arbez drop-kicks us into action
Richard in Bath emails, “I know England should walk this but the hubristic BBC build up is really setting them up to blow it.”
There has been a lot of talk even from England’s usual rivals that this team is a likeable bunch. It’s this type of coverage that is slowly moving them towards the usual “Anyone But England” spot in people’s sporting sentiments.
The teams are on their way out. England in their white tracksuit tops and France in just their shirt sleeves. Les Bleues are ready for business early.
It’s a wet old day in Bristol, and it’s interesting to consider what that means for the game. England put on a damp conditions display for the ages in their walloping of Scotland in the quarters and their territorial tactics could make it even more tricky task for France in the rain.
Pre-match reading
Ugo Monye gives us his take on the pressure England face as favourites
and read all about how Canada swept aside the Black Ferns in the other semi
Don’t leave me here alone, send all your reflections, thoughts and rants on the email and I’ll have a good read.
Teams
The Red Roses welcome back from injury the incomparable Ellie Kildunne at fullback and Hannah Botterman in the front row.
France are without co-captain Manaé Feleu and flanker Axelle Berthoumieu due to suspensions, and fly-half Carla Arbez steps in for the concussed Lina Queyroi.
England
Ellie Kildunne; Abby Dow, Megan Jones, Tatyana Heard, Jess Breach; Zoe Harrison, Natasha Hunt; Hannah Botterman, Amy Cokayne, Maud Muir; Morwenna Talling, Abbie Ward; Zoe Aldcroft, Sadia Kabeya, Alex Matthews.
Replacements: Lark Atkin-Davies, Kelsey Clifford, Sarah Bern, Rosie Galligan, Maddie Feaunati, Lucy Packer, Holly Aitchison, Helena Rowland.
France
Morgane Bourgeois; Kelly Arbey, Nassira Konde, Gabrielle Vernier, Marine Ménager; Carla Arbez, Pauline Bourdon-Sansus; Yllana Brosseau, Agathe Gerin, Rose Bernadou; Madoussou Fall Raclot, Hina Ikahehegi; Charlotte Escudero, Léa Champon, Teani Feleu.
Replacements: Elisa Riffonneau, Annaëlle Deshaye, Assia Khalfaoui, Taina Maka, Séraphine Okemba, Alexandra Chambon, Lina Tuy, Émilie Boulard.
Preamble
Welcome to Ashton Gate for the second semi-final of the Rugby World Cup 2025 in which France and England will have a ding-dong to determine who will play Canada in next week’s final.
Roger Angell, the fabled baseball essayist wrote, “perfection is admirable but a trifle inhuman and that a stumbling kind of semi-success can be much more warming… there is more Met than Yankee in every one of us.”
No team has come as close to perfection as England’s Red Roses. The myriad stats speaks for themselves, none more so than their current 31 match winning streak stretching back to the previous World Cup final; and they haven’t lost to today’s opponents in 18 matches consecutive matches between the two.
Upsets are the lifeblood of sport. This is what really keeps us all coming the back; that notion and hope that you can never really be certain of the outcome, even when it’s pretty much as certain are eggs are eggs. A glimmer of that hope arises from the almighty scare Les Bleues gave the favourites in the final round of the Six Nations in April.
France may somehow stumble towards semi-success today to reach their first ever final, and this will bring a toasty glow to their fans and neutrals alike. England will consider an extension of their perfection plenty warming enough, thank you very much.
It is true that there is more Met than Yankee is each of us. The Yankees usually win, regardless.
