Ireland’s hopes of avenging their Rugby World Cup quarter-final exit to France fell flat on Saturday as a flurry of squandered chances left them on the wrong end of a tense Six Nations encounter. Despite head coach Scott Bemand denying the revenge narrative, captain Erin King admitted the World Cup defeat added “venom” to the fixture, and full-back Stacey Flood warned France should be “worried if I was them.” The memory of Axelle Berthoumieu’s biting incident on Aoife Wafer—which earned the French back row a nine-game ban—provided extra motivation.
Missed Opportunities Haunt Ireland
Ireland dominated early exchanges but failed to capitalise, with three first-half tries disallowed and a penalty missed. This inability to build a lead allowed France to seize control in the final 25 minutes, extending their winning streak over Ireland to 10 matches. The result leaves Ireland unlikely to finish higher than third in this year’s championship.
“The tough lesson is that when you get your chances you have to take your points,” said Bemand. “I’m incredibly proud of the effort. We know where we are heading and we just want to keep on getting better. You can see the girls have left everything out there and they don’t really know how to feel. This is a cauldron of fire and for 55 or 60 minutes we’ve handled it. What we have to do is go deeper in these games and see more impact when we come off the bench.”
French Defence Impresses
The sold-out Stade Marcel-Michelin erupted as 17,000 fans roared for every tackle and try. A standout moment came when wing Anaïs Grando made a superb covering tackle to hold up Fiona Tuite over the line, sparking wild celebrations after the referee confirmed no try. Grando has been a revelation this Six Nations, scoring four tries in three games. France’s defensive masterclass saw them complete 240 tackles with a 94% success rate, missing just 14.
France, who have not won the Six Nations in eight years, look best placed to challenge England’s dominance. They were the last side to beat the Red Roses in the tournament back in 2018 and now eye a grand slam decider.
England’s Depth Tested
England’s title defence grows more challenging as injuries mount. Sadia Kabeya suffered a shoulder and pectoral muscle injury against Wales, though head coach John Mitchell can call upon veteran Marlie Packer, who played the full 80 minutes for the first time since the World Cup and earned player of the match honours. “Every training session, every time you are out there with the girls, you don’t know when it is going to be your last,” said Packer, who has slipped down the pecking order due to the emergence of talents like Kabeya and Maddie Feaunati.
England face Italy on 9 May after the fallow week, while France take on Scotland before the likely grand slam decider in Le Crunch a week later. All roads may point to England, but France’s ferocious defence could deliver a statement win that sends shockwaves through the tournament.
