France-Italy: A summary of the successful entry of the French women's team into the Women's Rugby World Cup

Les Bleues kicked off their World Cup with a 24-0 victory over Italy on Saturday in Exeter, England. While David Ortiz and Gaëlle Mignot's players were statistically flawless, they struggled to control their opponents, accumulating clumsiness and inaccuracies, particularly in the first half.

But buoyed by the density of their pack and the precision of their striker Morgane Bourgeois, the French women, present in Group D with Brazil and South Africa, gradually gained the upper hand over a combative but limited offensive Italian team. This first victory allows co-captains Manae Feleu and Gabrielle Vernier to establish a favorable dynamic for the rest of the tournament, before the next match against the inexperienced Brazilian players on August 31.

Bordeaux's Joanna Grisez, who scored the first try for the Blues, and was active on her right wing, covered many meters, ball in hand, to advance her team on each attack.

^28th , 7-0: Joanna Grisez eliminates several Italians on the left wing, then fakes a pass before bursting into space. The winger continues her run and goes to touch down in the Italian in-goal. Morgane Bourgeois converts.

^45th , 17-0 : The start of the second half is fruitful for the French with a try from Assia Khalfaoui. The pillar of the Blues is served on a plate and scores the second try like a winger. Morgane Bourgeois, author of a penalty shortly before half-time, succeeds in converting again.

^62nd , 24-0: Following a breakthrough by Madoussou Fall-Raclot, Charlotte Escudero recovers the ball behind the ruck but fails five meters from the Italian goal line. She gets up and finally touches down, despite pressure from several Italian defenders. The try is then converted by Morgane Bourgeois.

• The sentence: "It was a courageous match from the team," delivered Marine Ménager at the end of the match, on TF1.

The co-captain also wanted to highlight the "very good" defensive performance of her teammates, despite "some details to correct" , before appreciating this entry into the World Cup, where the Blues "managed to have fun and let go."

That's the number of points Italy scored in this first match. Earlier, Australia had also crushed Samoa (73-0).

The first match of the World Cup, always tricky to manage, was shaping up to be a tough one for the French against a valiant Italian team. They nevertheless secured the essentials by winning, taking the lead in their group. The performance remained more contrasted on the game plan, with numerous inaccuracies while the Italians appeared harmless. All these elements lead us to give this match a grade of "C" on our rating scale ranging from "A" to "E" .