WRWC: Kiwi women off to flying start

Defending champions New Zealand got their women's World Cup defence off to a strong start at French Rugby HQ in Marcoussis.

Wins for hosts France, Canada, Australia, England and Ireland mean the competition is set for more classic match-ups before the August 17 Final.

Ireland beat their Pool B rivals United States in a match that could be crucial for the progress of the girls in green, while Australia and England impressed in their pool openers.

Pool A:

Canada 31-7 Spain

Canada secured four tries that earned them a winning bonus point with an impressive display against the Spanish on day one.

The day belonged to wing Magali Harvey, who scored 26 of Canada's points in the Parisian sunshine.

Rocio Garcia was the only Spanish scorer, converting her own try after 38 minutes.

Scorers:

Canada:

Tries: Harvey 3, Marchak

Cons: Harvey 4

Pen: Harbey

Spain:

Try: Garcia

Con: Rial

Yellow card: Olivia DeMerchant (Canada, 20)

Teams:

Canada: 15 Elissa Alarie, 14 Magali Harvey, 13 Mandy Marchak, 12 Andrea Burk, 11 Julianne Zussman, 10 Emily Belchos, 9 Stephanie Bernier, 8 Kelly Russell (captain), 7 Karen Paquin, 6 Barbara Mervin, 5 Latoya Blackwood, 4 Maria Samson, 3 Hilary Leith, 2 Kim Donaldson, 1 Laura Russell.

Replacements: 16 Marie-Pier Pinault-Reid, 17 Olivia DeMerchant, 18 Kayla Mack, 19 Jacey Murphy, 20 Julia Sugawara, 21 Brittany Benn, 22 Jessica Dovanne.

Spain: 15 Marta Cabane, 14 Berta García, 13 Patricia Garcia, 12 Marina Bravo, 11 Eli Martinez, 10 Vanesa Rial, 9 Barbara Pla, 8 Ana Maria Aigneren (captain), 7 Angela Del Pan, 6 Paula Medin, 5 Maria Ribera, 4 Lourdes Alameda, 3 Elena Redondo, 2 Aroa Gonzalez, 1 Maria Sequedo.

Replacements: 16 Isabel Rico, 17 Rocio Garcia, 18 Diana Gasso, 19 Maria Casado, 20 Irene Schiavon, 21 Helen Roca, 22 Africa Felez.

England 65-3 Samoa

England coach Gary Street was happy with the performance of his charges on the opening day.

Despite a strong start by the Pacific Islanders, they were outclassed in many areas around the field and an early red card to their full back Soteria Pulumu didn't help the Samoan cause.

"Obviously we were very pleased with the result, and I'll take a score of 65-3 every day of the week," said Street after the match.

"We did simple things well. There were a few errors but it's only to be expected in the first match of the tournament."

"It was very warm but we trained for hot weather. We are fortunate to have very good legs on the bench so we can bring on strength and we need it in the heat."

Scorers:

England:

Tries: Merchant 2, Thompson 2, Hunt 2, Wilson 2, Mason, Scarratt

Cons: Scarratt 6

Pen: Scarratt

Samoa:

Pen: Milo

Yelow cards: Helen Collins (Samia, 9), Marlie Packer (England, 33)

Red: Soteria Pulumu (Samoa, 12)

Teams:

England: 15 Danielle Waterman, 14 Katherine Merchant, 13 Emily Scarratt, 12 Rachael Burford, 11 Lydia Thompson, 10 Katy McLean (captain), 9 Natasha Hunt, 8 Sarah Hunter, 7 Margaret Alphonsi, 6 Heather Fisher, 5 Tamara Taylor, 4 Jo McGilchrist, 3 Laura Keates, 2 Emma Croker, 1 Rochelle Clark.

Replacements: 16 Victoria Fleetwood, 17 Claire Purdy, 18 Rebecca Essex, 19 Marlie Packer, 20 La Toya Mason, 21 Ceri Large, 22 Kay Wilson.

Samoa: 15 Soteria Pulumu, 14 Brenda Collins, 13 Merenaite Faitala-Mariner, 12 Mary-Ann Collins, 11 Justine Luatua, 10 Bella Milo, 9 Tulua Leuluaialii, 8 Helen Collins, 7 Rita Lilii, 6 Sally Kaokao, 5 Cynthia Taala (captain), 4 Italia Tipelu, 3 Ala Leavasa-Bakulich, 2 Sharlene Fagalilo, 1 Tessa Wright.

Replacements: 17 Cynthia Apineru, 18 Laura Levi, 19 Juliana Saumani Sua, 20 Roseanne Leaupepe, 21 Taliilagi Mefi, 22 Mele Leuluaialii, 26 Ginia Muavae.

Pool B:

New Zealand 79-5 Kazakhstan

Defending champions New Zealand opened the tournament in style with a comprehensive 79-5 win over a plucky Kazakhstan.

The Black Ferns enjoyed an impressive 13 trips over the whitewash, their first after only two minutes, to rack up the highest score of the day.

But Kazakhstan failed to go down without a fight, managing a try in the 62nd minute to scenes of elation among the squad.

New Zealand coach Brian Evans was happy with their first outing of the tournament: "The girls found it very hot out there and had to adapt."

"We now have to prepare for our next match against Ireland and they are more of a known quantity to us, so we will be ready and we should have our game plans running smoothly."       

Scorers:

New Zealand:

Tries: Manuel 2, Fa'amausili 2, Blackwell, Winiata 2, Brazier 2, Baker, Savage, Nelson, Tiplady-Hurring

Cons: Brazier 5, Subritzky-Nafatali 2

Kazakhstan:

Try: Shadrina

Yellow card: Oxana Shadrina (Kazakhstan, 40)

Teams:

New Zealand: 15 Selica Winiata, 14 Shakira Baker, 13 Huriana Manuel, 12 Amiria Rule, 11 Halie Tiplady-Hurring, 10 Kelly Brazier, 9 Kendra Cocksedge, 8 Casey Robertson, 7 Justine Lavea, 6 Rawinia Everitt, 5 Sanita Levave, 4 Eloise Blackwell, 3 Stephanie Te Ohaere-Fox, 2 Fiao'o Fa'amausili (captain), 1 Ruth McKay.

Replacements: 16 Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate, 17 Aleisha Nelson, 18 Linda Itunu, 19 Aroha Savage, 20 Emma Jensen, 21 Victoria Subritzky-Nafatali, 22 Honey Hireme.

Kazakhstan: 15 Aigerym Daurembayeva, 14 Veronika Stepanyuga, 13 Anna Yakovleva (captain), 12 Kundyzay Baktybayeva, 11 Nigora Nurmatova, 10 Svetlana Klyuchnikova, 9 Amina Baratova, 8 Symbat Zhamankulova, 7 Marianna Balashova, 6 Yelena Yevdokimova, 5 Lyudmila Matiyeva, 4 Svetlana Karatygina, 3 Natalya Kamendrovskaya, 2 Irina Radzivil, 1 Yelena Muradova.

Replacements: 16 Olga Sazonova, 17 Yelena Rogacheva, 18 Anastassiya Khamova, 19 Yelena Kiryushina, 20 Karina Proskurina, 21 Balzhan Koishybayeva, 22 Oxana Shadrina.

United States 17-23 Ireland

Ireland and United States was the closest match of the day with fans at Marcoussis on the edge of their seats until the final whistle.

Ireland opened the scoring with a penalty but let the Americans in for a try after six minutes which set the tone for the rest of the match.

Niamh Briggs was the stand-out player in green, adding a try to her kicks at goal to keep the Irish ahead for most of the second half. Despite relentless pressure from the United States, Ireland had most of the possession and territory in the second period to ensure a crucial win ahead of their clash with defending champions New Zealand in the next round.

Captain Fiona Coghlan was content with the three points: "We were very pleased to finish the game in the way we did, we knew what we had to do and we did what we had to do so we're all happy."

Asked about their upcoming bout with New Zealand, Coghlan was staying positive: "We feel very good actually, we are looking forward to playing them next Tuesday."

Scorers:

United States:

Tries: Kugler, Farmer

Cons: Rozier 2

Pen: Rozier

Ireland:

Tries: Egan, Briggs

Cons: Briggs 2

Pens: Briggs 3

Yellow cards: Shaina Turley (United States, 19), Sarah Walsh (United States, 29), Claire Molloy (Ireland, 35)

Teams:

United States: 15 Meya Bizer, 14 Vanesha McGee, 13 Akalaini Baravilala, 12 Emilie Bydwell, 11 Sadie Anderson, 10 Kimber Rozier, 9 Jocelyn Tseng, 8 Kate Daley (captain), 7 Lynelle Kugler, 6 Jillion Potter, 5 Sarah Walsh, 4 Carmen Farmer, 3 Jamie Burke, 2 Katy Augustyn, 1 Hope Rogers.

Replacements: 16 Kittery Wagner, 17 Sarah Chobot, 18 Sarah Wilson, 19 Sharon Blaney, 20 Shaina Turley, 21 Deven Owsiany, 22 Hannah Stolba.

Ireland: 15 Niamh Briggs, 14 Ashleigh Baxter, 13 Lynne Cantwell, 12 Grace Davitt, 11 Alison Miller, 10 Nora Stapleton, 9 Tania Rosser, 8 Heather O'Brien, 7 Claire Molloy, 6 Siobhan Fleming, 5 Marie Louise Reilly, 4 Sophie Spence, 3 Ailis Egan, 2 Gillian Bourke, 1 Fiona Coghlan (captain).

Replacements: 16 Sharon Lynch, 17 Fiona Hayes, 18 Laura Guest, 19 Paula Fitzpatrick, 20 Larissa Muldoon, 21 Jenny Murphy, 22 Jackie Shiels.

Pool C:

Australia 26-3 South Africa

Australia withstood a strong South African side to run out winners in the opening game in Marcoussis.

Fresh from a strong performance during this season's IRB Women's Sevens World Series, Australia's Sharni Williams brought her skills to the fifteens game, opening the scoring for the Wallaroos after just two minutes.

South Africa continued to apply pressure but the Australian backs were on top form, and tries from kicker Ashleigh Hewson as well as Tricia Brown put the game beyond the South Africans.

Scorers:

Australia:

Tries: Williams, Hewson, Brown

Con: Hewson

Pens: Hewson 3

South Africa:

Pen: Kinsey

Yellow cards: Shona-Leah Weston (South Africa, 6), Chloe Buttler (Australia, 23)

Teams:

Australia: 15 Ashleigh Hewson, 14 Madeline Putz, 13 Sharni Williams, 12 Cobie-Jane Morgan, 11 Natasha Haines, 10 Tui Ormsby, 9 Nita Maynard, 8 Mollie Gray, 7 Shannon Parry (captain), 6 Dalena Dennison, 5 Alisha Hewett, 4 Rebecca Clough, 3 Caroline Vakalahi, 2 Louise Burrows, 1 Oneata Schwalger.

Replacements: 16 Margaret Watson, 17 Liz Patu, 18 Michelle Milward, 19 Chloe Buttler, 20 Ashley Marsters, 21 Hanna Sio, 22 Tricia Brown.

South Africa: 15 Cindy Cant, 14 Veroeshka Grain, 13 Benele Makwezela, 12 Lorinda Brown, 11 Phumeza Gadu, 10 Zenay Jordaan, 9 Tayla Kinsey, 8 Mandisa Williams (captain), 7 Vuyolwethu Vazi, 6 Lamla Momoti, 5 Nolusindiso Booi, 4 Celeste Adonis, 3 Cebisa Kula, 2 Denita Wentzel, 1 Asithandile Ntoyanto

Replacements: 16 Thantaswa Macingwane, 17 Nwabisa Ngxatu, 18 Andrea Mentoor, 19 Shona-Leah Weston, 20 Fundiswa Plaatjie, 21 Zandile Nojoko, 22 Siviwe Basweni.

France 26-0 Wales

A raucous home crowd welcomed Les Bleues to pitch one at Marcoussis as the hosts opened the tournament in style on what was a stunning occasion in the Parisian suburb.

The Welsh held their own despite the partisan support in the French capital. The match remained scoreless until the 25th minute when Marion Lievre intercepted a Welsh pass deep in her own half and outpaced the opposition to dot down, much to the delight of the home fans.

Wales have faced France on many occasions during the Six Nations, and their experience meant that the French did not have their own way for much of the encounter, but tries, including one from French stalwart Sandrine Agricole, helped them to a 26-0 victory in the last match of the day.

"In the first half an hour the Welsh engaged us physically and didn't allow us play our game," said French captain Gaelle Mignot.  

"The crowd really helped us to score the fourth try and get a bonus point … but we know the next matches will be difficult."

Scorers:

France:

Tries: Lievre 2, Izar, Poublan

Cons: Agricole 2, Le Duff

Wales:

None

Yellow card: Jenny Davies (Wales, 33)

Teams:

France: 15 Caroline Ladagnous, 14 Marion Lievre, 13 Shannon Izar, 12 Marjorie Mayans, 11 Camille Grassineau, 10 Sandrine Agricole, 9 Jennifer Troncy, 8 Safi N'Diaye, 7 Laetitia Grand, 6 Coumba Diallo, 5 Assa Koita, 4 Marine De Nadai, 3 Christelle Chobet, 2 Gaelle Mignot (captain), 1 Helene Ezanno.

Replacements: 16 Lise Arricastre, 17 Elodie Portaries, 18 Manon Andre, 19 Koumiba Djossouvi, 20 Elodie Poublan, 21 Christelle Le Duff, 22 Yanna Rivoalen.

Wales: 15 Laurie Harries, 14 Adriana Taviner, 13 Elen Evans, 12 Rebecca De Filippo, 11 Philippa Tuttiett, 10 Elinor Snowsill, 9 Amy Day, 8 Sioned Harries, 7 Rachel Taylor (captain), 6 Catrina Nicholas, 5 Shona Powell-Hughes, 4 Jenny Hawkins, 3 Megan York, 2 Lowri Harries, 1 Caryl Thomas.

Replacements: 16 Carys Phillips, 17 Jenny Davies, 18 Catrin Edwards, 19 Nia Davies, 20 Sian Moore, 21 Robyn Wilkins, 22 Dyddgu Hywel.