A week after the triumph of the XV of France in the Six Nations Tournament, it is the turn of the women’s XV of France to start their competition this Sunday with one goal in mind: the title.
Second last year, they will have to fight again against the English, victorious in 2021 for the third consecutive year, whom they will face for their last match of the competition, on April 30 in Bayonne.
But before this decisive “crunch”, four other matches are to be played, starting with the one against Italy, Sunday (4:00 p.m.) at the Stade des Alpes in Grenoble. “On paper, it’s true that it can be a favorable year” with the reception of the three best European nations (Italy, Ireland and England), even if “we must not overuse any match”, declares Annick Hayraud, the coach of Les Bleues, who remain on a superb autumn tour: a success over South Africa (46-3) then two back-to-back victories over New Zealand, the reigning world champion (38-13 and 29 -7).
The Confident Blues
“The advantage with the girls is that the enthusiasm and the motivation are always present, they are always at 200%. Afterwards, we have to see on the ground what we are able to put in place: we have more and more options at the level of the game, as well as at the level of the group, which has really expanded, ”underlines the coach, who deplores the absences due to injuries of winger or rear Caroline Boujard and scrum half Pauline Bourdon.
Sunday, Annick Hayraud expects “a great match, like every time Italy plays France, because these are two nations that are a bit alike: it’s up to us to be very vigilant and to take this meeting very seriously “.
The pillar Annaëlle Deshayes (26 years old, 19 caps) is well aware of this: “As some players evolve in France, they will be more aggressive, they will inevitably want more and tackle more”.
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But the Blue, in search of a first trophy since 2018, are confident. At the internship in Bastia in February, “we worked well on the different playing times on which we had sinned in the fall, explains the LOU player. And since then, we have tweaked the details to hope to make the best of the Tournaments”.
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