The French women’s rugby team qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup on Saturday thanks to its clear victory against Italy (39-3), in Whangarei (New Zealand), making the difference in the second period.
Gaëlle Hermet’s teammates validated their ticket in the last four thanks to a much more successful second period than the first. As often between these two formations, the match took place in a tense climate given the stakes, each gauging the other.
Les Bleues released after an hour of play
Both French and Italian got stuck in a false rhythm, for a meeting which took time to go from a sluggish and laborious tone to the more playful and twirling tone that the public had the right to expect from a quarter-final of World Cup. It was not until almost the hour of play that the French finally freed themselves, following a penalty try granted by the referee of the meeting, and that the three quarters tricolor let go of the horses, like by Joanna Grisez, author of a hat-trick.
Next Saturday at Eden Park in Auckland, the French will face New Zealand in the semi-finals, which largely dominated Wales (55-3).