Rugby World Cup: France beat Fiji 44-0, set up likely semifinal with Black Ferns

At Northland Events Centre, Whangārei: France 44 (Marine Menager try 8min, Melissande Llorens try 28min, Maelle Filopon tries 40min, 57min, Emeline Gros try 63min, Emilie Boulard try 72min, Celia Domain try 80+1min; Jessy Tremouliere 3 con, pen) Fiji 0. HT: 20-0

Yellow cards: Roela Radiniyavuni (Fiji) 23min, 79min

France have set up a likely Rugby World Cup collision course with the Black Ferns after rounding out pool play with a 44-0 win over Fiji in Whangārei on Saturday night.

It’s a result that has big ramifications for the Ferns. Earlier, they had all but secured top seeding for the quarterfinals with their 57-0 win over Scotland, and now France look poised to be seeded No 4, unless Canada slip up against the United States in Waitākere on Sunday.

If quarterfinal results then go to seedlings, it means New Zealand, instead of facing a Canada side they are 16-0 against, would square off with France, who they are 5-4 against, with those four losses being in their last four meetings, including two by 20-plus on last year’s tour north.

Not that the Ferns would exactly be quaking in their boots after seeing a patchy French display at the Northland Events Centre.

They were expected to be far too good for the fan-favourite Fijiana – who were coming off that fantastic maiden World Cup win over South Africa – and they were, but also had plenty of errors in their game.

There may have been some hangover from their brutal loss to England last weekend, where the French made a whopping 227 tackles, though there were 12 changes to their starting lineup to offset that, too.

It looked rather ominous when the scoring was opened in the eighth minute via a lineout maul then spin for winger Marine Menager, but sloppy handling, several inaccurate lineout throws, as well as Jessy Tremouliere kicking out on the full, stunted progress.

But a couple of smart plays from classy halfback Pauline Bourdon ensured they crossed twice more before the break – including when Fiji fullback Roela Radiniyavuni was in the sin bin for a charge down gone wrong.

From 20-0 at halftime they didn’t run away with it, but No 8 Emeline Gros proved huge off the back of the scrum, setting up one try then scoring herself, with Fiji playing the final minutes with 14 after Radiniyavuni got her marching orders with a second yellow card for a deliberate knock down.

The big moment

The first of Maelle Filopon’s two tries, in the 40th minute. Fiji had held France to 15-0 by that stage, but from a penalty in front of the sticks, Pauline Bourdon quick-tapped and sent it wide for the centre to dot down on the stroke of halftime.

MVP

Pauline Bourdon showed all her skill and smarts in equal measure, darting dangerously, kicking smartly and proving a key driver around the park.

Match rating

3/10: It was never meant to be much of a contest, though there was the potential for some exciting footy from both teams. It never really transpired. Thirty scrums tell the story.

The big picture

Fiji’s maiden World Cup is over, but a side which entered the tournament with a world ranking of No 21 will have taken plenty out of it. France, meanwhile, continue their quest for a first-ever World Cup final appearance, likely facing Italy in the quarterfinals next weekend.