Match Report – France Women 7 – 13 England

The win for England puts them clear top of Group C; Emily Scarratt proved to be the difference in the first half as she went over for a crucial try; France fought back through Gaelle Hermet but they couldn’t find the winning score with 15 minutes to go

Emily Scarratt was once again the pivotal cog in England’s side as they ground out a closely fought win over France

England continued their record-breaking run with a closely fought 13-7 victory against France at the Rugby World Cup.

The first half was a tight contest, the ever-present Emily Scarratt scoring the only points as she scampered through with 24 minutes gone before extending England’s lead with 30 seconds left on the clock with a crucial penalty conversion to go in 10-0 up at half-time.

France continued to stand tall defensively throughout the contest and got their reward with 63 minutes on the clock, Caroline Drouin’s attacking chip ending in a brilliant try for Gaelle Hermet to bring the scoreline to 13-7.

The closeness of the match-up was clearly frustrating England but they managed to hold out for the victory, their scrummaging and line out proficiency combined with Zoe Harrison’s clearance kicking proving the difference between the two sides.

The win puts England clear at the top of Pool C and extends their unbeaten run to 27 Tests before South Africa and Fiji meet tomorrow.

More to follow…

What next for England?

England’s final Pool C match is next Sunday October 23 in Auckland as they face South Africa.

South Africa’s World Cup campaign got off to a difficult start against France last week as they suffered a 40-5 loss but they will be looking to get back to winning ways on Sunday as they take on Fiji, who England beat in a record-breaking 84-19 victory.