despite a good reaction in the second half, Les Bleues lost in England and abandoned their dream of a Grand Slam

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The French lost to Twickenham (38-33) on Saturday, during the last day of the Six Nations Tournament, despite a reaction of pride in the second period.

They were going too far. As in the last eleven confrontations, the French suffered a raging defeat in England (38-33), Saturday April 29 at Twickenham, during the last day of the Six Nations Tournament. Les Bleues nevertheless sketched out a fantastic comeback in the second period (33-5 in 40 minutes), but the deficit accumulated in the first act (0-33) was too great.

Less experienced and less powerful, they must, for the fourth consecutive year, settle for second place in the Tournament. Carried by a large audience (58,450 people, a record for a women’s rugby match), the English women have a fifth Grand Slam.

A quarter of an hour in hell

If we rely on the famous “momentum”, the Blues made the game, which only reinforces the frustration inherent in this setback. Despite their good performance during – at least – two thirds of the game, they can bitterly regret a huge air pocket at the end of the first period, with four tries conceded in fifteen minutes. Reduced to thirteen after the yellow cards against Jessy Tremoulière, for her last with the blue jersey (32nd), and Rose Bernadou (37th), they were overwhelmed by more compact and better organized English women.

A slump all the more detrimental as the Blues played the game before the first try scored by Abigail Dow against (7-0, 17th). They indeed pounded the 22 English meters for long minutes, without however crossing. The players of the Gaëlle Mignot-David Ortiz tandem proved to be much more effective in getting back into the game, sending a few cold sweats to an English public who thought the matter was heard.

Emilie Boulard (49th), Gabrielle Vernier (56th), Charlotte Escudero (66th) and Emeline Gros (76th) sounded the revolt, before a last try by Cyrielle Banet (80th) brought the Bleues a little closer, ten seconds before the term. What would have happened if the French had benefited from one more possession? It would have been allowed to believe in a new test, which would have validated the fabulous reversal of the situation of the French women, so much their domination in all the sectors of play was then pregnant. These finally failed a stone’s throw from the grail, but showed real promise, while the new cycle is only in its infancy.


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