England vs France preview

Published on 8 August 2025 at 19:34

Kickoff: 8:10pm 

Date: Saturday 9th August

Stadium: Stade Andre et Guy Boniface 

 

The Red Roses will take on France in their final game before taking on the USA to kick off the World Cup. They will be the visitors and will be looking to stamp some authority on the game given how their previous game against the French finished. Their game against Spain was useful for getting the players some match time but provided very little in terms of useful opposition which led to a 97-7 final score. As I alluded to, England's last game against France was a nail-biter which saw England win by a single point after France's comeback was ended by a dropped kick off at Twickenham. The French will be looking at this game as an opportunity to rattle the tournament favourites on the eve of the big event. This might just be a warm up but it feels very important. 

 

 

Team news

 

France

1.Deshaye 2.Bigot 3.Bernadou 4.M. Feleu 5.Fall Raglot

6.Escudero 7.Champon 8.T.Feleu 9.Chambon 10.Arbez

11.Arbey 12.Neisen 13.M.Menager 14.Grisez 15.Bourgeois

16.Riffonneau 17.Brosseau 18.Khalfaoui 19.Ikahehegi 

20.Maka 21.Cissokho 22.Queyroi 23.Tuy

 

England

1.Hannah Botterman 2.Amy Cokayne 3.Maud Muir 4.Morwenna Talling 5.Abbie Ward

6.Zoe Aldcroft 7.Sadia Kabeya 8.Alex Mathews 9.Natasha Hunt 10.Zoe Harrison

11.Jess Breach 12.Tatyana Heard 13.Meg Jones 14.Abby Dow 15.Ellie Kildunne 

16.Lark Atkin-Davies 17.Kelsey Clifford 18.Sarah Bern 19.Rosie Galligan 

20.Maddie Feaunati 21.Lucy Packer 22.Helena Rowland 23.Emma Sing

 

This England team looks like one that many would expect to start the first game against the USA with the likes of Abby Dow and Ellie Kildunne both coming into the starting XV. They'll be joined in the backs by Natasha Hunt and Zoe Harrison who look to be the favoured starting half backs. They will be behind a pack with a plethora of caps and plenty of quality which combines to make a formidable group. England will be backing themselves to win but it's the performance (and health) of the players that is of paramount importance.

Add comment

Comments

There are no comments yet.