Les Bleues continue their flawless performance by winning in Wales and reaching a final against England

The XV of France signed a fourth victory in a row (40-0) at the end of the fourth day of the Six Nations Tournament, Sunday afternoon, in Cardiff.

France Télévisions – Sports Editorial

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The joy of the Blues after Joanna Grisez's try against Wales, in Cardiff, April 21, 2024. (GEOFF CADDICK / AFP)

The Blues received four out of four. The French XV continued their perfect Six Nations Tournament by securing a fourth victory in as many matches against Wales (40-0), on the lawn of the Arms Park in Cardiff, Sunday April 21. For their last match before meeting the English in the announced final of the Tournament, the Blue won a large victory, without conceding a single point, and validated their rise in power.

Big mistake for the Welsh in this ending;  after having decided to play a scrum, a sector in which they have nevertheless been dominated since the start of the match, the Wales players attempt passes under pressure in their 22 meters and are intercepted once again by Joanna Grisez who offers a double for her return to 15-a-side rugby. Morgane Bourgeois makes her first transformation of the game.

Day 4: Joanna Grisez’s double for the 6th French try
Big mistake for the Welsh in this ending; after having decided to play a scrum, a sector in which they have nevertheless been dominated since the start of the match, the Wales players attempt passes under pressure in their 22 meters and are intercepted once again by Joanna Grisez who offers a double for her return to 15-a-side rugby. Morgane Bourgeois makes her first transformation of the game.

A week after their success against Italy (38-15), the French offered the few French supporters present in the aisles of the Arms Park a new good offensive copy, with six tries scored against the red lantern of this Tournament .

Offensive Blues

Without necessarily holding the ball (67% possession for the Welsh at the hour mark), the Blues worked to make the difference and find space. Faced with a Welsh game in one pass and little variety, the Blues notably benefited from the contribution of the septists Anne-Cécile Ciofani, Chloé Jacquet and especially Joanna Grisez, author of the second French try after an interception in her 22 and a formidable race to go all the way up the field to the opposing goal (16th). On the legs, the French winger even scored a double, getting the last achievement of the match (79th), with a new interception.

The Blues also relied on a very solid scrum, a sector in which they were successful (no scrums lost). The scrum was notably the starting point for the third try, scored by Romane Ménager after a good exit from the pack of Teani Feleu (31st), as the sun rose in the Welsh sky. The offensive bonus was validated upon returning from the locker room (45th), before captain Manae Feleu also tried (58th).

The players of Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz managed to manage their weak moments well, like the yellow card accompanied by the bunker conceded by the superstar of 7 Anne-Cécile Ciofani at the very start of the match (2nd) for her very first cap with the team at 15. At 14 for the first time in this Tournament, the Blues continued very disciplined defensive sequences and even went for the first try of the match (11th).

An indiscipline to be corrected for the final

A defensive rigor found at the end of the match, when Assia Khalfaoui also temporarily left her teammates, sanctioned for a head-to-head collision (63rd), before a third yellow card conceded by Chloé Jacquet after the siren, which shows indiscipline the big black point of this meeting.

Thanks to this victory, the Blues come back to within one point of the English, who largely beat Ireland on Saturday (88-10), in the general classification. The players of Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz will compete against the Red Roses in a top final for the title and the Grand Slam, Saturday April 27, at the Chaban-Delmas stadium in Bordeaux.


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