Rugby. Women's World Cup: Les Bleues aim to emulate South Africa and score a victory against Brazil

The French rugby women are ambitious ahead of their second match of Pool D of the World Cup this Sunday against Brazil (5:45 p.m.). After their lackluster victory against Italy (24-0), the French women are eager to show that their attack is as effective as their defense, like the 66-6 thrashing inflicted on the Brazilians by South Africa in their opening match.

Their success paved the way for France to top spot in Group D, as the other two teams in this group are significantly lower in the world rankings. However, it wasn't all perfect for Les Bleues, who failed to claim the bonus point, scoring only three tries, largely due to a first half in which their overwhelming possession of the pitch had little impact on the scoreboard. Their fine defensive performance will need to be confirmed against stronger teams, following the debacle in their warm-up match against England, which they lost 40-6.

"Against Italy we weren't able to express ourselves, it was frustrating. We're going to have to be daring, do things we might not normally do. The key word is try," said winger Kelly Arbey, one of the four starting players retained against Brazil, at a press conference.

The two coaches have carried out a comprehensive squad review which will allow the 32 players in the group to take to the pitch for the first two matches.

Against Brazil, who lost their first match 66-6, the French team is expected to deliver a festival of tries, as many teams did in the first round. France-Italy was the closest match of the first day, with five teams scoring more than 50 points, with Australia winning the most (73-0 against Samoa). The average points difference was 47.

But Yvonne Nolan, the competition director, insisted at a press conference this week that closer matches were ahead. "If you like free-flowing rugby and tries, you're in for a treat," she said. "If you like arm wrestling, you're in for a treat. These matches are going to get closer and closer as we progress through the pools and into the knockout stages."

"In 2006, I was part of the Irish team that was beaten 43-0 by France. Today, Ireland is ranked fifth, just behind France. If we support all these teams, this performance gap will close," she assures.