End on a good note. The women’s XV of France faces Fiji for its third and final match of the group stage of the Rugby World Cup, Saturday October 22 (8:15 a.m.), in New Zealand. In a very good position in the Group C classification, the Blue definitely want to secure their place in the quarter-finals. But it will be necessary to deal with certain absences and face an unknown adversary. Overview of the stakes of the meeting.
Qualifying for the quarters in sight
This is the major objective of the Blues. Facing Fiji, Thomas Darracq’s players will above all seek to validate their ticket for the quarter-finals of the World Cup. In this new competition format, with quarter-finals for the first time, the first two teams in each pool are directly qualified for the rest of the tournament. They are accompanied by the two best thirds.
Second at the start of the last day of chickens behind the English machine, the French have their destiny in their hands. A victory against the Fijians would ensure that they finish in one of the first two places, regardless of the result of the other meeting, such as a draw. In case of defeat, the Blues would be overtaken by their opponent of the day, and would have to rely on the results of the other groups. For now, they still have more points than any third.
Last group game #RWC2021 #XVdeFrance pic.twitter.com/3evwdWmh4e
– France Rugby (@FranceRugby) October 19, 2022
On the other hand, the first place of the group seems difficult to reach. Beaten in the Crunch of the second day, the French let England escape. It would be necessary to count on a poor performance of the XV of the Rose against South Africa to take their lead.
Learning to play without Laure Sansus
The XV of France lost a major element in New Zealand. Out on injury after a quarter of an hour of play against England, Laure Sansus had to forfeit the rest of the tournament. The Stade Toulousain player suffers from a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee, according to the FFR.
From Saturday, the French will have to compose without their maestro, best player of the last Six Nations Tournament. During the Crunch, Gaëlle Hermet’s teammates did not let themselves be discouraged, and showed a certain solidarity to deliver an encouraging performance. Pauline Bourdon, who replaced her against the English, will start on Saturday.
Les Bleues will also have to get used to this absence, since this package marks the end of the international career of the scrum half. Laure Sansus had announced before the start of the tournament that the New Zealand World Cup would be her last competition before hanging up her boots.
Get the better of a young but ambitious opponent
On Saturday, Les Bleues will step into the unknown, facing an opponent they have never met before. Sixteenth team in the world, Fiji are playing their first World Cup. “It’s a team like the boys, a lot of creativity, a lot of initiatives, an organization that is not always clear to observe”explained the coach of the Blue Thomas Darracq. “There will be precautions to take against this team which has not been seen much since it has played few games lately.”
On the go. Toso #duavataveilomanirakavi #RWC2021 pic.twitter.com/O5bcAbel32
— Fiji Rugby Union (@fijirugby) October 19, 2022
For their very first meeting of the World Cup, the Fijians lost heavily to the English favorites, suffering the worst defeat in their history (84-19). But they rallied to dominate South Africa on the second day (21-17) and stay in the race for qualification.