England and France fates will intertwine next Sunday, as the Red Roses and Les Bleues overcame Scotland and Ireland, respectively, to reach the semifinals of the 2025 Rugby World Cup.
Les Bleues survive a spectacular Irish challenge
France and Ireland were locked in a tight battle for 80 minutes, but the French eventually managed to gain a foothold and defeat their European rivals 18-13, providing a thrilling spectacle for the twelve thousand fans present at Sandy Park.
The Irish set-piece managed to deny France a way to enact their strategy, forcing them to be on the defensive for most of the opening half. At the 6th minute, 29-year-old prop Linda Djougang bulldozed her body over the try-line to give Ireland a 5-point advantage early on.
Scott Bemand's side was in the driver’s seat, dominating the ball possession and territory, with fly half Dannah O'Brien pulling the strings and steering her team. 16 minutes before the break, Ireland added another try to their scoreline, following a great play finished by fullback Stacey Flood.
Just before the break, O’Brien converted a penalty goal, giving Ireland a 13-point lead with only 40 minutes to go.
Although France seemed lost in the first half, Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz made a few changes which would improve the Les Bleues chances of mounting a comeback.
Ireland's discipline started to slip, giving an opening to France to finally set up their game plan and score their first three points of the game, converted by Morgane Bourgeois.
Whilst Ireland did their best to close up their ranks, France grew more confident by the minute and would end up scoring two tries in 8 minutes. Charlotte Escudero went first, carrying from close range to dive inside the in-goal area, followed by wing Joanna Grisez.
As time was running out, Ireland tried to step up, but their set-piece was unable to regain dominance due to France’s ironclad defence and patience. The Les Bleues would expand their winning margin after a successful penalty kick slotted in by Bourgeois.
Although they were disheartened, Irish captain Sam Monaghan was proud of how her team performed.
"If we had got that score before half-time, we would have had more of an edge at half-time. The girls have nothing left to give and I can't ask for any more. I am so incredibly proud. The conditions were tough in the first half. We played them in the second half, but unfortunately France had that edge on us."
Player of the Match, Charlotte Escudero shared her experience after a gruelling but victorious battle, with the backrow already eyeing the semifinal Le Crunch clash.
"Of course, when you’re in a tournament like this you’re already thinking about the knockouts – the quarter-final we’ve just come through, the semi-final, even the final. We don’t want to stop at the semis like so many times before. We want to make history, and beating England at home would be huge. We’re so excited about it, and that excitement is going to drive us to work hard all week. We know there’s a lot to fine-tune, but we’ll put everything into it to win that game."
Red Roses set-piece too strong for Scottish hopes
England didn’t leave it to chance and bagged a strong performance to earn a 40-08 win in their quarterfinal clash against Scotland at Ashton Gate. Twenty-six thousand fans made their voices heard under intense weather conditions, with England quickly taking control of the game, but not before Scotland slotted in a penalty kick, rattling the opposition.
However, the home side would score their first try at the 12th minute. Loosehead prop Kelsey Clifford was unstoppable after a short carry, with Holly Aitchison nailing the conversion.
The English forward pack kept running the show, as lock Morweanna Talling and Kelsey Clifford scored a five-pointer each, with wing Abby Dow having the chance to clock in, earning herself a try – her 50th Test Match try.
As had happened in the opening 40 minutes, England kept control of the territory and ball possession, with hooker Amy Cokayne and fly half Holly Aitchison adding tries to their team's tally.
Even though the game was lost, Scotland never stopped fighting and looking for a chance to strike, and ultimately, they found a way into the English try area. After several phases, wing Rhona Lloyd persisted and dived in to earn Scotland 5 points, one of their latest best results against their old-time rivals.
Scotland’s captain, Rachel Malcolm, voiced her pride in Scotland’s World Cup campaign.
"I'm extremely proud. We came to this tournament to compete, we wanted to get to the knockout stages and that's exactly what we did. We always knew that playing against England was going to be a humungous challenge. We battled for parts of that game, but they definitely played the conditions and showed their class for the most part. But I couldn't be prouder of the fight, we've given everything for the last I-don't-know-how-many weeks."
Zoe Aldcroft assessed her team’s quarterfinal performance and what they hope to achieve next Sunday.
"We are just so pleased. Conditions played a bit of a role today but we are super excited to attack this week heading into that semi-final. We're going to keep where our feet are. We love preparing well so we'll make sure we get a good training week in to put ourselves in the best place heading into the semi-final against France."
With the quarter-finals completed, England and France will clash for a chance to reach the World Cup final. The match will take place at Bristol's Ashton Gate on September 20th at 3.30 PM. The Black Ferns and Canada are playing on Saturday.
