On the lawn of the small rural stadium Sergio Lanfranchi in Parma, the Blues gave themselves a few scares before winning in the rain when they entered the competition this Sunday against Italy (12-22). No offensive bonus, a few questions… We will have to progress to hope to win a tournament in which the English are the big favourites.
In Italy, the Tricolores struggled, more than expected. They had a lot to prove after their third place in the World Cup four months ago in New Zealand. More than the sporting result of this 8th failure in the semi-finals, the tensions behind the scenes before and during the competition had led to the departure of coach Thomas Darracq, openly criticized by some players in favor of a duo composed of Gaëlle Mignot (former emblematic captain of the Blue) and David Ortiz.
First decision, second line Audrey Forlani (31), absent in New Zealand, was appointed captain with a track record of trying to complete a first Grand Slam since 2018.
A lack of pragmatism
We are still far from it. More powerful in the scrum, more solid in the static phases, the Bleues seemed to have made the difference shortly after half an hour of play. A try from the three-quarter center Gabrielle Vernier, at the end of a devastating scrum (25th ), followed by another eight minutes later by the opening half Carla Arbez, infiltrating the transalpine defense (7-15, 33rd), let imagine an easy success.
But the Tricolores proved to be too messy in the showers and it was not until the 75th minute and the try of the back Caroline Boujard, after a long phase of domination to ensure success during this entry into the Tournament of Six Nations.
The trip to Ireland, a fragile opponent, next Saturday, should not pose too many problems for the Blues if they restore some order in their rugby. “We knew it was going to be tough,” said captain Audrey Forlani. The victory is there, it’s a first step. For my part, I tried to bring as much experience as possible to this team. »
