Women 6N: the French Surprise

It was a winner-takes-all match up in ancient Vannes and the winner, fully expected to be England, was France. England were unbeaten and France had lost to Wales. England had scored 98 points to their opponents' 46; France had scored 99 to 16. England could add a Grand Slam to a championship and a Triple Crown; France could not.

There was no real contest for the wooden spoon. The winless Scots earned that.

Final Standings

1. France – 8 points

2. England – 8 points

3. Ireland – 6 points

4. Wales – 4 points

5. Italy – 4 points

6. Scotland – 0 points

Round 5 Results

Ireland vs Scotland, 45-12

Italy vs Wales, 16-12

France vs England, 17-12

Previous Results

Round 1 Results

Ireland vs Wales, 21-3.

England vs Scotland, 32-0

France vs Italy, 39-0

Round 2 Results

France vs Ireland, 18-6

England vs Italy, 33-24

Wales vs Scotland, 23-10

Round 3 Results

England vs Ireland, 13-9

Wales vs France, 10-8

Italy vs Scotland, 22-7

Round 4 Results

Ireland vs Italy, 14-3

England vs Wales, 20-13

France vs Scotland, 24-0

Ireland vs Scotland at Donnybrook Stadium

Scorers:

For Ireland:

Tries: Alison Miller 3, Liz Burke, Ciaran Griffin, Niamh Briggs 2, Sophie Spence

Con: Niamh Briggs

Pen: Niamh Briggs

For Scotland:

Tries: Jenny Maxwell, Rhona Lloyd

Con: Lana Skeldon

Teams

Ireland:  15 Niamh Briggs  (captain), 14 Liz Burke, 13 Claire McLaughlin, 12 Sene Naoupu, 11 Alison Miller, 10 Nora Stapleton, 9 Larissa Muldoon, 8 Paula Fitzpatrick, 7 Claire Molloy, 6 Ciaran Griffin, 5 Ciaran Cooney, 4 Elaine Anthony, 3 Ailis Egan, 2 Zoe Grattage, 1 Ruth O'Reilly.

Replacements: 16 Cliodhna Moloney, 17 Fiona Hayes, 18 Fiona Reidy, 19 Orla Fitzsimons, 20 Sophie Spence, 21 Mary Healy, 22 Aine Donnelly, 23 Kim Flood

Scotland: 15 Chloe Rollie, 14 Megan Gaffney, 13 Lisa Thomson, 12 Lisa Martin (captain), 11 Rhona Lloyd,  10 Sarah Law, 9 Jennifer Maxwell,  8 Jade Konkel, 7 Karen Dunbar, 6 Jemma Forsyth, 5 Deborah McCormack, 4 Emma Wassell, 3 Lindsey Smith, 2 Lana Skeldon, 1 Heather Lockhart

Replacements: 16 Sarah Quick, 17 Debbie Falconer, 18 Lisa Robertson, 19 Tracy Balmer, 20 Anna Stodter, 21 Helen Nelson, 22 Lauren Harris, 23 Eilidh Sinclair   

Referee: Sherry Trumbull (Canada)

Assistant referees: Helen O'Reilly (Ireland), Gary Glennon (Ireland)

Wales vs Italy at Talbot Athletic Ground

Italy took an early 13-0 lead, which was too much for Wales.

Scorers:

For Wales:

Tries: Sioned Harries 2

Con: Wilkins

For Italy:

Tries: Beatrice Rigoni 2

Pens: Michela Sillari 2

Teams

Wales: 15 Adi Taviner, 14 Bethan Dainton, 13 Hannah Jones, 12 Kerin Lake, 11 Elen Evans, 10 lRobyn Wilkins, 9 Keira Bevan, 8 Sioned Harries, 7 Sian Williams, 6 Rachel Taylor (captain), 5 Siwan Lillicrap, 4 Shona Powell-Hughes, 3 Amy Evans, 2 Carys Phillips, 1 Megan York.

Replacements: 16 Amy Price, 17 Cerys Hale, 18 Catrin Edwards, 19 Rebecca Rowe, 20 Sioned Harries, 21 Elinor Snowsill, 22 Gemma Rowland, 23 Dyddgu Hywel

Italy: 15 Manuela Furlan, 14 Maria Magatti , 13 Maria Grazia Cioffi, 12 Michela Sillari, 11 Sofia Stefan, 10 Beatrice Rigoni, 9 Sara Barattin (captain), 8 Elisa Giordano, 7 Isabella Locatelli, 6 Michela Este, 5 Alice Trevisan, 4 Elisa Pillotti, 3 Melissa Bettoni, 2 Lucia Cammarano, 1 Elisa Cucchiella

Replacements: 16 Lucia Gai, 17 Gaia Giacomolli, 18 Diletta Nicoletti, 19 Valentina Ruzza, 20 Ilaria Arrigheti, 21 Silvia Folli, 22 Paola Zangirolami, 23 Veronica Madia

Referee: Sara Cox (England)

Assistant referees: Stuart Kibble (Wales), Amanda Latucca (Wales)

France vs England at Stade de la Rabine, Vannes

England led 7-0 at half-time.

Tries by Gaëlle Mignot and Audrey Forlani, the latter converted, gave France a 12-7 lead, but then Lydia Thompson scored her second try and the scores were level at 12-all. With just 10 minutes to go hooker Gaëlle Mignot scored her second which led to victory and great French glee.

French resistance played a large role in the victory.

Scorers:

For France:

Tries: Gaëlle Mignot 2, Audrey Forlani

Con: Camille Cabalou

For England:

Tries: Lydia Thompson 2

Con: Amber Reed

Teams

England: 15 Katie Mason, 14 Lydia Thompson, 13 Lauren Cattell, 12 Ceri Large, 11 Lotte Clapp, 10 Amber Reed, 9 La Toya Mason, 8 Sarah Hunter (captain), 7 Izzy Noel-Smith, 6 Harriet Millar-Mills, 5 Tamara Taylor, 4 Emily Braund, 3 Vickii Cornborough, 2 Emma Croker, 1 Rochelle Clark

Replacements: 16 Amy Cokayne, 17 Heather Kerr, 18 Bee Dawson, 19 Poppy Leitch, 20 Poppy Cleall, 21 Bianca Blackburn, 22 Ruth Laybourn, 23 Leanne Riley

France: 15 Laura Delas, 14 Camille Cabalou, 13 Lucille Godiveau, 12 Elodie Poublan, 11 Julie Billes, 10 Camille Imart, 9 Bourdon, 8 Safi N’Diaye, 7 Laetitia Grand, 6 Pauline Rayssac, 5 Celine Ferer, 4 Audrey Forlani, 3 Julie Duval, 2 Gaëlle Mignot (captain), 1 Lise Arricastre

Replacements: 16 Manon Bigot, 17 Dhia Traore, 18 Patricia Carricaburu, 19 Romane Menager, 20 Julie Annery, 21 Camille Boudaud, 22 Coralie Bertrand, 23 Boujard

Referee: Amy Perrett (Australia)

Assessor: Wayne Erickson (Australia)