EXETER - France scored 18 unanswered second-half points to beat Ireland at a rainy Sandy Park on Sunday and book their place in the semi-finals of Rugby World Cup 2025.
Story of the match
Conditions were not great throughout the encounter, but they were particularly atrocious in the first half, where Ireland used the high winds behind them to their advantage and build a 13-0 lead thanks to tries from Linda Djougang and Stacey Flood as well as a Dannah O'Brien penalty.
France endured a lengthy period of defence on their own line in the final possession of the half, and once they turned over the ball after more than 30 phases to end the half, they came into the second half with much more confidence.
They didn't have the same wind behind them as the Irish did in the first half, but France were able to muscle their way into the game and they were rewarded through tries from Charlotte Escudero, who scored of a switch place, and a length-of-the-field effort from Joanna Grisez.
Morgane Bourgeois converted one of them to go with her 48th-minute penalty, and when she stepped up and converted another penalty in the 75th minute, she set up a grandstand finish. Ireland were once again camped deep in the French half with time up, and once again the French stood firm to resist multiple phases of attack before an attacking lineout from a penalty saw Manae Feleu leap up and disrupt the throw to win a tense quarter-final in south west England.
Mastercard Player of the Match
Given the conditions, the game was an arm-wrestle from start to finish, so the forward battle was going to be key. Number eight Charlotte Escudero scored the try that sparked the comeback for her team and generally stepped up for her team to ensure they will live to fight another day.
"We really wanted to do a great match," Escudero said. "The first match was really tough with the wind and everything, but second half we did some amazing plays and we won and we're so happy.
"We still have a lot of work to do for the semi-final coming up because the first half was really tough and we've got to work on that so we can be ready for next week."
Coach insight
France co-head coach Gaëlle Mignot was proud of the way her team got over the line, but emphasised that they would need to be better in the next round of the knockouts.
"We knew the weather conditions were going to be harsh," she said. "First half it wasn't in our favour, then in the second half we took a little time to get into it, but we managed to take advantage of this [wind] and it was a good result.
"We're in the semi-final, we know we have a really hard match to come [against England or Scotland]. We're still in this, we still have a lot of things to work on, but we keep growing in strength, so we'll see what happens."
Ireland head coach Scott Bemand was no doubt feeling the nerves when his players were camped on the French line at the end, but said there were many moments that made up the result, rather than just one.
"It didn't just come down to the end. The end of the first half, we understood the potential ramifications in that," he said.
"We had a points tally in our head that we thought we'd need to get to. Things can happen, I've been in that space before.
"One call one way or the other, a finger tip that way or not, you're either in the game or you're over."
Stat of the day
35 - The number of phases of possession France defended for at the end of the first half. They may not have appreciated it at the time, but that was the moment that swung the game in their favour.
Next steps
France will face the winners of the quarter-final between England and Scotland in Bristol later in the day, while for Ireland, their Rugby World Cup 2025 journey is over. Their wait for a first Rugby World Cup semi-final goes on, but they will certainly take pride from their journey. Going into this tournament, they only had one player with any experience of playing in a Rugby World Cup: Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald. Given they pushed serial semi-finalists France all the way on Sunday will give them a huge boost.
