France vs England
Kickoff: 3:30pm, Saturday 20th September
Venue: Ashton Gate
Watch on: BBC ONE
The second semi-final will also take place at Ashton Gate and is also between very familiar opponents. England and France have faced each other at least once per year since the early 2000s in the Six Nations or its earlier versions. Despite their familiarity and proximity in the World Rankings, the record between England and France is massively one-sided. England have beaten France in their last 15 encounters with the French not winning since 2018. They have also played twice this year. The first of which was a 43-42 win for the Red Roses which was in jeopardy thanks to a sudden French comeback before they knocked on the ball from a kickoff to give England the win. The most recent match-up came this summer in preparation for the World Cup. The scoreline was much more decisive (40-6) in favour of England, who were the visitors on that occasion.
Past results should give England plenty of confidence going into this game and, if that wasn't enough, France now have to replace 2 key players due to suspensions. Their captain, Manae Feleu, was given a suspension that will likely shrink to 2 games after being cited for a high tackle against Ireland, for which she was yellow-carded at the time. Berthoumieu is also suspended, but inexplicably avoided immediate punishment, after biting Aoife Wafer. Since then, she has been given a fairly lengthy suspension that will cause her to miss the rest of the World Cup and more.
Including the 2 suspensions, France's joining head coaches have made 4 personnel changes to the team that scraped past Ireland. The front row remains entirely intact but Ikahehegi comes in at lock whilst Fall Raclot shifts to loosehead lock. There is only one personnel change in the back row (Teani Feleu is in for Berthoumieu) but it means that Escudero moves to blindside flanker in order to make space for Teani Feleu to play at no.8. There is a 3rd forced change for France and this time it comes at fly half; Queyroi suffered a concussion against Ireland which means that Arbez will start in the 10 shirt. Elsewhere in the back line, Menager moves from outside centre to the left wing having already played both positions in this World Cup. That means that Konde comes in at centre whilst Arbey has to settle for a place on the bench.
The Red Roses look to have had a comparably good week of preparation for this game. Rather than dealing with more injuries or suspensions, England have now got Hannah Botterman and Ellie Kildunne available for this game after missing the quarter-final against Scotland. Botterman immediately slots back in at loosehead prop which means that Kelsey Clifford drops to the bench despite scoring twice last weekend. Abbie Ward also rejoins the starting XV, swapping places with Rosie Galligan who will take her place amongst the replacements. The other change that was expected is the return of Ellie Kildunne at fullback. The fullback, who was named best-in-the-world last year, was always going to start as long as she was fit but it's worth noting just how good Helena Rowland was in her place. Rowland could be called a "utility back" but that is a disservice to her quality. Yes she does play in every position from 10 to 15, but unlike regular utility backs she plays to at least the same level as position-specialists.
Rowland will be joined on the bench by Holly Aitchison, which comes as a bit of a surprise after her performance against Scotland. She had been England's starting fly half until an injury meant that Zoe Harrison started the tournament. Harrison played well but, after Aitchison returned to the team for the knockout rounds, it seemed clear that Aitchison would reclaim her spot going forward. Instead, Harrison will start with Aitchison coming off the bench. It will be interesting to watch what happens when Aitchison comes on. The pair have played together as a 10/12 combination which looks to be working very well at the moment. If that does happen, it leave a lot of questions about who Rowland will replace in the second half. It's up in the air for now, but those questions will all be answered on Saturday afternoon in Bristol.
Team news
France
Starting XV
1.Yllana Brosseau 2.Agathe Gerin 3.Rose Bernadou 4.Madoussou Fall Raclot 5.Hina Ikahehegi
6.Charlotte Escudero 7.Lea Champon 8.Teani Feleu 9.Pauline Bourdon Sansus 10.Carla Arbez
11.Marine Menager(C) 12.Gaby Vernier 13.Nassira Konde 14.Joanna Grisez 15.Morgane Bourgeois
Bench
16.Elisa Riffoneau 17.Annaelle Deshaye 18.Assia Khalfaoui 19.Taina Maka
20.Seraphine Okemba 21.Alexandra Chambon 22.Lina Tuy 23.Kelly Arbey
England
Starting XV
1.Hannah Botterman 2.Amy Cokayne 3.Maud Muir 4.Morwenna Talling 5.Abbie Ward
6.Zoe Aldcroft(C) 7.Sadia Kabeya 8.Alex Mathews 9.Natasha Hunt 10.Zoe Harrison
11.Jess Breach 12.Tatiana Heard 13.Megan Jones 14.Jess Breach 15.Ellie Kildunne
Bench
16.Lark Atkin-Davies 17.Kelsey Clifford 18.Sarah Bern 19.Rosie Galligan
20.Maddie Feaunati 21.Lucy Packer 22.Holly Aitchison 23.Helena Rowland
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