France showed their class and experience as they beat the Springbok Women by 57-10 (half-time 24-3) in the final pool match of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in Northampton on Sunday afternoon.
As a result, the Bok Women will face New Zealand in their quarter-final at Sandy Park in Exeter at 14h00 next Saturday afternoon, while France will take on Ireland on Sunday.
The Bok Women entered the last round of pool matches as potential dark horses after two impressive performances against Brazil and, in particular, Italy that seemed to bely their world ranking coming into the tournament.
However, they were given a reality check by the team ranked fourth in the world as the match, which was billed as a pool decider, was effectively over as a contest by half-time as France scored four first-half tries, mixing up their game brilliantly against a SA side that showed wholesale changes from their victory over Italy.
Things were quite evenly poised early on, with France scoring an unconverted try before Byrhandré Dolf (fullback) landed a penalty goal to make it 5-3.
The French scored a second try but then disaster struck as Chumisa Qawe (centre) was sin-binned for a high tackle, which was upgraded to a 20-minute red card.
With their pack laying the foundation, France added three more tries to their tally in the time South Africa only had 14 players on the field, with their one-on-one tackling not up to scratch as the French found holes in the SA defence through good handling and pace.
The Bok Women’s Bomb Squad were sent on early in the second half and although they made a difference, the South Africans failed to capitalise on a handful of opportunities.
Instead, France added two late tries to their tally to push them past 50 points, but the last say belonged to Nadine Roos, who was rewarded for a superb performance with a sublime individual try after the buzzer had sounded as the Bok Women refused to give up.
Scorers
Springbok Women 10 (3) – Try: Nadine Roos. Conversion: Byrhandré Dolf. Penalty goal: Dolf.
France 57 (24) – Tries: Emilie Boulard (2), Gaby Vernier, Charlotte Escudero, Agathe Gerin, Joanna Grisez (2), Annaelle Deshaye, Alexandra Chambon. Conversions: Lina Queyroi (2), Morgane Bourgeois (4).
But despite the big defeat, but there are many positives out of their performance in Northampton on Sunday. That is the view of SA head coach Swys de Bruin.
“France played very well today and we did not,” said De Bruin.
“The reality is that they are ranked fourth in the world and that showed. In fact, the top four sides in the world all scored 40 or more points to win their final pool matches this weekend, which shows the gap between them and the rest right now.
“There are positives though. We rested nine frontline players, and they will be ready and fresh for New Zealand next week. Today also exposed nine players to the harsh realities of what World Cups are all about. One can look at that as an investment into the future.”
De Bruin was concerned about a number of areas of this team’s play: “We came up against a very good pack and they dominated us. I did not expect that.
“They were very clinical and scored from every opportunity, while our inability to protect our ball also handed them easy points. The red card we received also did not make things easier, but despite all of that, we have something to work with this week.”
The SA coach said they have massive respect for the Black Ferns, who beat Ireland by 40-0 in their final pool match, but having played New Zealand’s next best side in Cape Town last month will help them in preparing for the quarter-final, the first time they will contest the knock-out stages in the tournament.
“Sixteen teams arrived here and eight are on their way home,” said De Bruin.
“We still have a chance to make more history, despite being massive underdogs. As you saw against France, our girls never gave up and scored the last points of the match. That fighting spirit is something that will always give us a chance.”
The team will travel to Exeter on Monday and have their first training session on Tuesday.
SOURCE: SA RUGBY
