The equation is simple for defending champions England, Canada, France, Ireland, New Zealand and the USA today – win and a place in the semi-finals of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 is yours. So the meeting of les Bleues and the tournament hosts at the UCD Bowl (kick-off 7.45pm) is sure to produce fireworks.
2017 WOMEN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP – POOL C: Thursday, August 17
FRANCE WOMEN (1st) v IRELAND WOMEN (2nd), UCD Bowl, 7.45pm (live eir Sport 2/RTÉ Two/www.rte.ie/live (Republic of Ireland only)/ITV 4/www.rwcwomens.com live stream (in certain regions))
Team News: Munster duo Nicole Cronin and Leah Lyons will start for Ireland in tonight’s crunch Pool C clash with France at the UCD Bowl. The winners will top the pool and qualify for the semi-finals in Belfast.
An impressive debut performance against Japan has seen Cronin preferred to Larissa Muldoon at scrum half, while Lyons, who had the desired impact off the bench last Sunday, gets the nod at hooker ahead of Cliodhna Moloney.
Head coach Tom Tierney has selected the same team that defeated Australia, apart from the inclusions of Cronin, Lyons, Sophie Spence and Ciara Griffin, with the latter pair scoring tries as influential replacements in the Pool C opener.
Loosehead Lindsay Peat and captain Claire Molloy are set for their third successive starts of the tournament up front. Peat and Lyons are joined by Ailis Egan in the same front row combination that caused problems for France during Ireland’s 13-10 Six Nations win over les Bleues earlier this year at Donnybrook.
Marie Louise Reilly, the Aon player-of-the-match against the Wallaroos, resumes her second row partnership with Spence, while Molloy reverts to openside flanker with Griffin continuing on the blindside, and Paula Fitzpatrick, who bagged a vital brace of tries against the Japanese, returns at number 8.
Fresh from her player-of-the-match display the last day, experienced out-half Nora Stapleton and Cronin command the half-back positions. Jenny Murphy comes back in to form a powerful centre pairing with Sene Naoupu, who has been ever-present in the pool stages along with fellow backs Stapleton, Alison Miller and Hannah Tyrrell.
Ireland’s starting back-line is completed by a back-three of Tyrrell at full-back, Eimear Considine on the right wing and Miller on the left. The bench options, which have proven crucial for Tierney’s side in the opening two rounds, include Louise Galvin who made her 15s international debut at the start of the second half against Japan.
Previewing the showdown with pool leaders France, Tierney said: “We’ve had lots of tough games against France over the years and we know tonight is going to be no different. They have looked really good in their opening two games of the tournament and they’ll be coming into this game full of confidence.
“It’s a cup final tonight, with a place in the semi-finals up for grabs, so we want the players to go out there and give it everything. It won’t be easy, but with the crowd behind them, they have the ability to claim a place in the final four.”
The eagerly-awaited Ireland v France match will be broadcast live on television in the Republic of Ireland by eir Sport 2 and RTE Two, and in the UK by ITV 4. RTE 2fm will have also live commentary on radio, while there will be live streaming available on www.rwcwomens.com in selected regions.
Meanwhile, France have certainly caught the eye with their victories over Japan (72-14) and Australia (48-0), the latter a sublime display of attacking rugby that the Wallaroos simply had no answer to with wingers Shannon Izar and Chloe Pelle and fleet-footed flanker Romane Menager running in tries from anywhere.
Izar scored a hat-trick inside 25 first half minutes against the Australians, while Pelle scored two herself and they will swap wings for this third round game. In all, head coach Samuel Cherouk has made three changes in personnel.
Les Bleues welcome back Caroline Ladagnous, a hat-trick heroine against Japan, to renew her centre partnership with Elodie Poublan, while prop Annaëlle Deshayes and redoubtable captain Gaëlle Mignot return to the front row, the latter having come off the bench the last day to score a trademark try off the back of a powerful driving maul.
“When we are in the French national team we have one duty – win games and wear proudly the colours of our country,” said Mignot. “We need all the girls back home to feel and to say, ‘I want to be like these people and do what they do’.”
WRWC 2017 Ticket Exchange Programme
Where To Watch – WRWC 2017 Broadcast Information
For more on the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup, visit the tournament website – www.rwcwomens.com. Buy your match tickets for the #WRWC2017 finals stages now on www.ticketmaster.co.uk/wrwc2017 and www.ticketmaster.ie/wrwc2017.
FRANCE: Montserrat Amédée (Montpellier RC/FFR); Chloé Pelle (Lille Métropole RC Villeneuvois/FFR), Caroline Ladagnous (AC Bobigny 93/FFR), Elodie Poublan (Montpellier RC), Shannon Izar (Lille Métropole RC Villeneuvois/FFR); Caroline Drouin (Stade Rennais), Yanna Rivoalen (Lille Métropole RC Villeneuvois); Annaëlle Deshayes (Ovalie Caennaise), Gaëlle Mignot (Montpellier RC) (capt), Julie Duval (Ovalie Caennaise), Lénaig Corson (Stade Rennais/FFR), Audrey Forlani (Blagnac Saint-Orens Rugby Féminin), Marjorie Mayans (Blagnac Saint-Orens Rugby Féminin/FFR), Romane Ménager (Lille Métropole RC Villeneuvois), Safi N’Diaye (Montpellier RC).
Replacements: Caroline Thomas (ASM Romagnat), Lise Arricastre (Lons Rugby Féminin Béarn Pyrénées), Patricia Carricaburu (Lons Rugby Féminin Béarn Pyrénées), Céline Ferer (AS Bayonne), Julie Annery (AC Bobigny 93), Jade Le Pesq (Stade Rennais/FFR), Carla Neisen (Blagnac Saint-Orens Rugby Féminin), Camille Grassineau (Stade Français/FFR).
IRELAND: Hannah Tyrrell (Old Belvedere/Leinster); Eimear Considine (UL Bohemians/Munster), Jenny Murphy (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Sene Naoupu (Harlequins), Alison Miller (Old Belvedere/Connacht); Nora Stapleton (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Nicole Cronin (UL Bohemians/Munster); Lindsay Peat (Railway Union/Leinster), Leah Lyons (Highfield/Munster), Ailis Egan (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Sophie Spence (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Marie Louise Reilly (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Ciara Griffin (UL Bohemians/Munster), Claire Molloy (Bristol/Connacht) (capt), Paula Fitzpatrick (St. Mary’s/Leinster).
Replacements: Cliodhna Moloney (Railway Union/Leinster), Ruth O’Reilly (Galwegians/Connacht), Ciara O’Connor (Galwegians/Connacht), Ashleigh Baxter (Cooke/Ulster), Heather O’Brien (Highfield/Munster), Larissa Muldoon (Railway Union/Ulster), Katie Fitzhenry (Blackrock/Leinster), Louise Galvin (UL Bohemians/Munster).
Referee: Graham Cooper (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Ian Tempest (England), Rose Labreche (Canada)
Television Match Official: David Grashoff (England)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): France Women to win: 1/6; Draw: 30/1; Ireland Women to win: 7/2
Pre-Match Quotes – Jenny Murphy (Ireland Women): “Those are the kind of games I like. This is our cup final. We were aiming to be two from two at the start and now it comes down to this. This is where we want to be, France are in our way. I’m just looking forward to it now and getting stuck in.
“A lot of the talk is about how we’ll have to stop France. Yeah, we will, but we’ve also got some stuff that they’re going to have to stop too. So we’re not too worried about them at this stage. We’ve done that analysis on them and we’re focused on what we want to do.
“I don’t know what the feeling is like in the French camp. For us, we’re going in to this with grit and determination and champing at the bit. I don’t care what the French are like. I know what we’re like in camp. The mood is good and we want to get stuck in and (deliver) aggressive, accurate rugby from the get-go.
“We’ve prided ourselves on defence, line-speed, getting square up on the ball, and we didn’t implement that in our first two games. As a result we were caught out wide a little bit. We fixed it in training, we just have to put it in our game-plan.
“Sometimes one or two ugly wins will do us the world of good. It’s been our kick up the ass. We know ourselves, we’ve got together collectively and we know what we’re capable of doing. We weren’t happy with the performances we put in when we know what we are able to do. I’m looking forward to going out there and showing the Dublin crowd what rugby we can play and hopefully give them something to cheer about.”
Hannah Tyrrell (Ireland Women): “We’re looking for a good performance. There’s not really a lot of pressure on us; we know that we can go out and put a performance in that we maybe haven’t delivered so far. We’re all just really excited to go out there and show people what we can do.
“I wouldn’t say there’s panic but there is a bit of frustration among individuals because of simple, basic errors we wouldn’t normally make. There’s no panic going into the game. We’re all ready, we’re focused, we know exactly what we need to do to beat the French. It’s a must-win game and we’re up for it.
“We’re a much better team than we’ve shown so far. Hopefully we can out there and show everyone that and give them the rugby that we can play. We, ourselves, know we’re better than we’ve performed so far.
“Simple errors, again, really have been the main thing. Not being able to go through the phases because of handling errors or quick turnovers. We’re ready to rectify that and really put it up to the French. We all know no matter what game we’re going into that we need to deliver a performance to get a result. We needed results against Australia and Japan just as bad as we need a result tonight. We’re focused and ready to do the job at hand.”
Pre-Match Links –
WRWC 2017 Team News: Match Day 3
Tierney ‘Mightily Relieved’ As Ireland Set Up Pool Decider With France
‘Spirit Of Rugby’ Shines At Women’s Rugby World Cup
WRWC 2017 Ticket Exchange Raises 10,000 Euro For Charity
In Pics: Ireland Women Training At UCD
RTÉ Gets Behind Ireland’s WRWC 2017 Campaign
Kim Flood Joins Belton And Rosser On Eir Sport’s WRWC 2017 Team
WRWC 2017: Stat Attack –
FRANCE –
Best finish: Third (1991, 1994, 2002, 2006 and 2014)
Worst finish: Eighth (1998)
Women’s Rugby World Cup record: Played 34/Won 23/Lost 11
Women’s Rugby World Cup points scored: 919
Most-capped player in squad: Gaëlle Mignot and Elodie Poublan (67 caps each)
Did you know?: France have reached the semi-finals on six occasions but have never managed to reach the title decider, their best placing being third – five times.
Head coach: Samuel Cherouk
Captain: Gaëlle Mignot
IRELAND –
Best finish: Fourth (2014)
Worst finish: 14th (2002)
Women’s Rugby World Cup record: Played 29/Won 14/Lost 15
Women’s Rugby World Cup points scored: 430
Most-capped player in squad: Claire Molloy (55 caps)
Did you know?: Alison Miller’s try at WRWC 2014 gave Irish Rugby their first ever 15s international win over New Zealand at any level and also ended the Black Ferns’ 20-match unbeaten run in the tournament.
Head coach: Tom Tierney
Captain: Claire Molloy
Recent Meetings –
2014: Women’s Six Nations: France Women 19 Ireland Women 15, Stade du Hameau, Pau; Women’s Rugby World Cup 3rd-4th Place Play-Off: Ireland Women 18 France Women 25, Stade Jean Bouin, Paris
2015: Women’s Six Nations: Ireland Women 5 France Women 10, Ashbourne RFC
2016: Women’s Six Nations: France Women 18 Ireland Women 6, Stade Aime Giral, Perpignan
2017: Women’s Six Nations: Ireland Women 13 France Women 10, Donnybrook
Support Ireland on www.irishrugby.ie/facebook or search #WRWC2017, #BringIt and #FRAvIRE on www.twitter.com/irishrugby.
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