England sweep aside Scotland, France bounce back to beat Ireland
WRAP: England will play France in the semifinals of the World Cup 2025 after the Red Roses beat Scotland 40-8 in Bristol on Sunday.
Scotland came into the game with the promise that they would give everything against the number-one-ranked team in the world, and they duly delivered with a fast start to the game that delivered the first points in the form of a Helen Nelson penalty.
However, England weathered the storm and held firm to take a 26-3 lead into half-time, following a pair of tries from Kelsey Clifford and one each from Morwenna Talling and Abby Dow as England’s forward dominance began to show.
Scotland were equally stubborn in defence in the second half, but could not hold out completely as Amy Cokayne and Holly Aitchison both crossed for further England tries, but there will still be cause for Scotland to smile, as they had the final say at Ashton Gate.
A long, sweeping move took them deep into enemy territory, which allowed Rhona Lloyd to cross for the final try of the game in Bristol.
France scored 18 unanswered second-half points to beat Ireland at a rainy Sandy Park on Sunday and book their place in the semi-finals of the World Cup 2025.
Conditions were not great throughout the encounter, but they were particularly atrocious in the first half, where Ireland used the high winds behind them to their advantage and built a 13-0 lead thanks to tries from Linda Djougang and Stacey Flood as well as a Dannah O’Brien penalty.
France endured a lengthy period of defence on their own line in the final possession of the half, and once they turned over the ball after more than 30 phases to end the half, they came into the second half with much more confidence.
They didn’t have the same wind behind them as the Irish did in the first half, but France were able to muscle their way into the game, and they were rewarded through tries from Charlotte Escudero and Joanna Grisez.
Morgane Bourgeois converted one of them to go with her 48th-minute penalty, and when she stepped up and converted another in the 75th minute, she set up a grandstand finish.
Ireland were once again deep in the French half, and once again they stood firm to resist multiple phases of attack before an attacking lineout saw Manae Feleu leap up and disrupt the throw to win a tense quarter-final.
The number of phases of possession France defended at the end of the first half. They may not have appreciated it at the time, but that was the moment that swung the game in their favour.
France will face the winners of the quarter-final between England and Scotland in Bristol later in the day, while for Ireland, their World Cup 2025 journey is over.
Sunday’s scores and scorers:
For France:
Tries: Escudero, Grisez
Cons: Bourgeois
Pens: Bourgeois 2
For Ireland:
Tries: Djougang, Flood
Pens: O’Brien
Yellow cards: Rose Bernadou (France, 19′, cynical); Manae Feleu (France, 40′, cynical); Grace Moore (Ireland, 58’ – high tackle); Chambon (France, 78’)
Teams
France: 15 Morgane Bourgeois, 14 Joanna Grisez, 13 Marine Ménager, 12 Gaby Vernier, 11 Kelly Arbey, 10 Lina Queyroi, 9 Pauline Bourdon Sansus, 8 Charlotte Escudero, 7 Lea Champon, 6 Axelle Berthoumieu, 5 Madoussou Fall Raclot, 4 Manae Feleu, 3 Rose Bernadou, 2 Agathe Gerin, 1 Yllana Brosseau
Replacements: 16 Manon Bigot, 17 Annaëlle Deshaye, 18 Assia Khalfaoui, 19 Hina Ikahehegi, 20 Seraphine Okemba, 21 Teani Feleu, 22 Alexandra Chambon, 23 Emilie Boulard
Ireland: 15 Stacey Flood, 14 Beibhinn Parsons, 13 Aoife Dalton, 12 Eve Higgins, 11 Amee-Leigh Costigan, 10 Dannah O’Brien, 9 Aoibheann Reilly, 8 Brittany Hogan, 7 Aoife Wafer, 6 Fiona Tuite, 5 Sam Monaghan, 4 Ruth Campbell, 3 Linda Djougang, 2 Neve Jones, 1 Niamh O’Dowd.
Replacements: 16 Cliodhna Moloney Macdonald, 17 Ellena Perry, 18 Sadhbh McGrath, 19 Eimear Corri-Fallon, 20 Grace Moore, 21 Emily Lane, 22 Enya Breen, 23 Anna McGann
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU)
Assistant Referees: Maggie Cogger-Orr (NZR) & Natarsha Ganley (NZR)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
For England:
Tries: Clifford 2, Talling, Dow, Cokayne, Aitchison
Cons: Aitchison 5
For Scotland:
Try: Lloyd
Pens: Nelson
Teams:
England: 15 Helena Rowland, 14 Abby Dow, 13 Megan Jones, 12 Tatyana Heard, 11 Jess Breach, 10 Holly Aitchison, 9 Natasha Hunt, 8 Alex Matthews, 7 Sadia Kabeya, 6 Zoe Aldcroft, 5 Rosie Galligan, 4 Morwenna Talling, 3 Maud Muir, 2 Amy Cokayne, 1 Kelsey Clifford.
Replacements: 16 Lark Atkin-Davies, 17 Mackenzie Carson, 18 Sarah Bern, 19 Abbie Ward, 20 Maddie Feaunati, 21 Lucy Packer, 22 Zoe Harrison, 23 Emma Sing.
Scotland: 15 Chloe Rollie, 14 Rhona Lloyd, 13 Emma Orr, 12 Lisa Thomson, 11 Francesca McGhie, 10 Helen Nelson, 9 Leia Brebner-Holden, 8 Jake Konkel, 7 Evie Gallagher, 6 Rachel Malcolm (captain), 5 Sarah Bonar, 4 Emma Wassell, 3 Christine Belisle, 2 Lana Skeldon, 1 Leah Bartlett
Replacements: 16 Elis Martin, 17 Molly Wright, 18 Molly Poolman, 19 Eva Donaldson, 20 Rachel McLachlan, 21 Alex Stewart, 22 Caity Mattinson, 23 Evie Willis
Referee: Aurélie Groizeleau (FFR)
Assistant Referees: Clara Munarini (FIR) & Amber Stamp-Dunstan (WRU)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (SARU)
