The women's XV of France, by crushing Canada 36 to 0 on Saturday at Eden Park in Auckland in the "
small
" final of the World Cup, perfectly succeeded in overcoming its disappointment suffered in the semi-final against the New Zealanders to finish with the bronze medal.
What a relief!
At the final whistle, Les Bleues all hugged each other tightly to celebrate this big and clear victory, won thanks to five tries, including a double from winger Marine Ménager.
They therefore won a sixth bronze medal in nine editions.
At the first World Cup in 1991, won by the American Eagles, there was no bronze awarded, with France and New Zealand sharing third place.
For Bleues coach Thomas Darracq, who hailed a "
very positive balance sheet
", this victory is a "
very good performance: managing to put 40 points for the Canadian team, third in the world rankings and which almost beat the England last week… We can see that the potential of this team was there
”.
Despite the disappointment of the semi-final lost by a small point (25-24) against the
New Zealand "
Black Ferns
", the French women were therefore able to remobilize to largely dominate this Canadian team which could not offer much thing, having "
dropped
" very quickly according to his coach Kévin Rouet.
"Infallible Defense"
"
We really wanted to remobilize to seek this third place and it's done
," welcomed the captain of Les Bleues, Gaëlle Hermet, after the meeting.
“
We showed a huge heart, an infallible defense since we took zero points
”.
France is the country that has finished third most often in the tournament: it had already climbed this step of the podium in 1994, 2002, 2006, 2014 and 2017.
The pillar Assia Khalfaoui had mentioned this bronze medal during the week as a “
consolation prize
”, the winger Joanna Grisez had meanwhile blown: “
It will be better than nothing
”.
This match for third place warmed the hearts of the French supporters, who carried their team throughout the match.
It is definitely a good omen for the future: Six Nations Tournament in the spring and especially World Cup-2025 in England.
This bronze medal is also a great reward for four "
great ladies
" of French rugby who bowed out on Saturday in Auckland: second lines Safi N'Diaye and Céline Ferer, third line Marjorie Mayans and scrum half Laure Sansus, in the stands because injured since the match against England in pool.
As often, France took the game on their own from the first period, scoring three tries, by the second line Madoussou Fall (12th) in force, the scrum half Pauline Bourdon (37th), following a breakthrough from the Gabrielle Vernier center, and finally by Marine Ménager (40th + 1), in the corner.
“
Very proud
”
At half-time, without really having suffered any frank opposition from Canada, except in the physical engagement, the Blues, all of control, both in defense and in their offensive phases, already led 22 to 0.
Upon returning from the locker room, the French continued their undermining work by scoring a fourth try, by the pillar Annaëlle Deshaye (29-0, 44th).
Then Marine Ménager scored twice (61st), on a test well prepared by a big phase of play from the French forwards: 36-0 for Les Bleues.
Vernier's yellow card outings in the 67th minute, then Marine Ménager's injury, not replaced, did not change anything at the end of the match.
"
We are very proud to return to France with this medal
," said Hermet.
“
We especially wanted to get rid of the frustration of last weekend's game.
This third place allows us to come out with something and that's super positive.
It was the minimum we wanted to seek with this group
.