It took very little, so little. A successful penalty at the last minute and the women’s XV of France would be in the final of a Rugby World Cup for the first time in its history. But Caroline Drouin’s kick, kicked 35 meters from the poles, went to the left of the uprights and the dream was gone. This Saturday in Auckland, France was beaten by one point (25-24) by New Zealand.
It would be unfair to attribute the defeat to the only missed shot from the French opener, otherwise impeccable. Because the French can feed regrets on many other subjects, in view of a part that they mastered in its first act, returning to the locker room with a 7-point lead in the haversack (10-17). They lost the thread in the second half and evolved to 14 the last ten minutes after the yellow card received by the third row Safi N’Diaye for a high tackle on an opponent.
“We will go for this third place”
“It was a game at stake, we are disappointed, we will have to digest […] We had a huge heart throughout the competition, we showed it again today. […] Next week, we will go for this third place.assures captain Gaëlle Hermet, at the microphone of TF1, at the end of the match.
It will be against Canada, defeated by England (26-19) in the other half. The British favorites will therefore meet defending champions New Zealand in the final. Both matches will take place next Saturday in Auckland.
