Red Roses beat France in Grenoble

The Red Roses got their 2020 Autumn Internationals off to winning ways with a 33-10 showing against France Women in Grenoble.

 
In what was their third away victory in-a-row against Les Bleues, the Red Roses ran in three tries at Stades des Alpes, becoming the number one team in the world.

 
Simon Middleton’s charges got off to a blistering start, scoring inside five minutes via a driving maul, Amy Cokayne the benefactor at the back. Emily Scarratt added the extras for a 7-0 lead.
 

France responded through scrum-half  Laura Sansus, whose darting run went deep into Red Roses territory. A sequence of offloads followed, edging them closer to England’s line, but their efforts were thwarted by staunch defence from Abby Dow, denying a certain score.
 

England were unable to stop Gaelle Hermet on the 22nd-minute mark, however, as the French openside barrelled over from close range to level the affair. Les Bleues’ fly-half Caroline Drouin then traded penalties with Scarratt to make it 10-10 at half-time.
 

The Red Roses started the second half much like they did the first. Helena Rowland, making her first Test start, broke the blue line and cantered unopposed for 40 metres before finding support in the shape of Cokayne. Alex Matthews then scythed through a gap off the resulting ruck to dot down. Scarratt adding the conversion.
 

Minutes later and Scarratt was converting the try of Jess Breach, after the winger punished a lacklustre French clearance kick, running back at the defence before stepping off her right foot, she accelerated away and over the line. 24-10 the score.
 

Scarratt continued her accuracy from the tee, and extended her side’s lead to 23 points with a thudding 30 metre penalty on the hour mark, a closer effort eight minutes later, and one in front of the posts in overtime, that secured the win.
 

The Red Roses now boast a six-match winning streak against France, and have won 10 of the last 11 meetings.

Head coach Middleton said: “We're absolutely delighted with today's win.

"Our squad strength-in-depth was shown today.

 
“We brought youngsters in, players back in. We have a number of players with injuries, world-class and international players.
 

“I thought we finished outstandingly well. I said to the team at half-time, we needed to keep the intensity up and the two moments of genius we had at the start of the second half came from that.
 

“Our defence was brilliant today.
 

“I’d like to give a special mention to all the staff and both unions who have worked tirelessly. We know a huge amount of work has gone into getting the game on safely and we’re grateful.

 
“We need to recover. It’s a fairly quick turnaround in terms of international travel so it’s important we regroup and get our recovery right.
 

“We’ll look at what we did well and what we need to improve on. The key bit for us is we’ve got to perform better than we did this week and I know for a fact this is what the players will want to do when we welcome France to Twickenham next Saturday.  
 

“It’s huge for us to have the games on the BBC and hopefully the audience enjoyed it today.”

Rowland added: “Being out of XVs for a couple of years, you never know what to expect coming back but I’ve loved it. It helps with the players you’ve got around you, they really give you confidence. They’ve helped my game. I’m constantly asking questions and really trying to develop.
 

"I think returning to number one in the world rankings is huge, particularly in a World Cup year. For the team to put out those performances as a side which allow us to be top of the world rankings is huge."