England’s work of art may be damaged by Les Bleues’ return to form

France have been a thorn in side of the Red Roses in recent years and have shown imperious form at Women’s World Cup as the tournament heads to BelfastAs the Women’s World Cup ups sticks from Dublin and heads to Belfast for the knockout stages it is tempting to view this as an end to the phoney war, that the battle is only just about to commence. Equally it is hard to escape the feeling that England, the defending champions and world No1, have been on a collision course with New Zealand – winners of four of the last five tournaments – since day one.Both blitzed their pool-stage opposition, cru…