Rugby World Cup

England held firm in the face of a late surge to claim a 13-7 victory over France and extend their remarkable winning streak to 27.

A 10-0 half-time advantage may not have been huge but in the context of a rugged encounter it felt handy. With the pre-game breeze having now died down, though, England would have expected their dynamic bench to have had more of an impact than they did. Worse was to follow for the French when the outstanding No 8 Ménager went to tackle Zoe Aldcroft and was knocked out cold. Into the final 10 minutes France were still within a score and ruffling the composure of an England side who normally have opponents on toast long before the end. An absorbing, if occasionally stop-start, game might have been even trickier for England had France clung on to the ball at a couple of key moments and not lost their two best players, Laure Sansus and Romane Ménager, inside the first quarter. The Red Roses had their normal clutch of heroines, with Marlie Packer a constant thorn in French sides and Emily Scarratt scoring all her side’s points, including the 24th-minute try that gave England some much-needed breathing space.

England centre Emily Scarratt scored all of her side's points as they beat Les Bleues 13-7 in Whangārei on Saturday.

That Les Bleues were still in the contest at that stage owed itself largely to a committed rear-guard action. Ill-discipline from Les Bleues presented the Red Roses with a penalty right in front of the posts in the 62nd minute, though, and Scarratt duly slotted it through the posts to stretch their lead to 13 points. France refused to give in though, and after Gaëlle Hermet crossed the whitewash in the 64th minute, Les Bleues put the Red Roses under considerable pressure.

These two titans of the women's game are so used to playing in sold-out stadiums in their respective countries, such is the respect they now command. But this ...

England have had 76% of possession so far and France have tackled for their lives which maybe a problem in the late stages of this match. The truly worrying thing would be an England victory on a huge scale, as that would sound alarm bells for the competitiveness of this grand competition far too early in the proceedings. Early chance for the packs to size each other up after a France knock. Early penalty for France gives them a lineout in the Red Roses half. The Red Roses have a five metre attacking lineout and France a repeat defensive set to continue with. This is compounded when France win a scrum penalty in the England half. Rocky is a legend of the game and to be held in the esteem as her [is amazing]. Abby Dow is on from Lydia Thompson and her first touch is similar to last week as she flies through a tackle on the right. “But I was really pleased with how we wrestled the game back - with 10 minutes to go it was anybody’s - and we took control of it and got it to that kick battle. Scarratt was on duty to nudge over a penalty and steer England into a 10-point lead by the break. Suddenly, Les Outsiders were back in it, but lacked the spark to push on and kill England, as Zoe Harrison closed out the match by teasing a game of kick tennis out of France’s backs. They camped France in their own half for much of an uneventful first half - enjoying 75 per cent of the possession - but lacked the killer-instinct we have come to expect of this team of world-beaters.

Simon Middleton says the closely-fought battle with France provides a "reality check" for England's 'favourites' tag at the Rugby World Cup.

"I think France are probably the best defensive side in the world. "I think it will benefit both sides. It shows you where it is at and it gives you the barometer of what you need to expect if you are going to make the semis and going to make the final because that will be the nature of the game. "If you are going to come to New Zealand and try to take the World Cup off the Black Ferns you need to be able to go toe to toe, whatever that looks like." "We played outstandingly well in that game for 55 or 60 minutes and then again at the end to finish the game off, but it just shows the nature of this level of competition. "If that is a quarter final or a knockout game, one bounce of the ball and we would be on the plane on the way home.

Le Crunch arrived in Whangarei, with both England and France looking to stay unbeaten in the second week of the 2021 Rugby World Cup.

On in 66th minute. A bit of a non-starter, rarely getting her hands on the ball and having almost zero influence on the match. Dropped one ball cold with the line begging but nailed all three of her attempts on goal and stepped into the captaincy role when Hunter left the park. Made a great linebreak towards the end of the first half which got England on the front foot. Looked good when she took on the line. Knocked the ball on when England were building some pressure on attack and generally struggled to get as involved as her teammates. Rarely went backwards in the tackle – whether on attack or defence. Couldn’t take hold of the first kick-off but England eventually won themselves a scrum. Her carry game became more prominent as the game developed – even managed to get herself over the line but was stripped before she could get the ball down for the try. The lineout queen, securing all 10 of her deliveries. Knocked the ball on when the Red Roses were building phases inside the French danger zone. England held strong, however, eventually claiming a 13-7 win and securing themselves a spot in the quarter-finals with one more round of pool action still to play.

Head coach Simon Middleton warns England 'will be on the plane home' if they repeat their performance against France in the knockout stages.

We just need to be more effective and efficient in that area.” “And we’re going to have to get better and better in that area, because that is where we probably gave most of our penalties away. “Obviously, we want to play with tempo, and we want to get into teams. “Moving forward, teams will have seen France get at us in that area, they’ll have seen She said: “If teams want to stop us, that’s where they’re going to come at us, they are going to get at the breakdown to stop us playing. “And that’s what it’s going to be like when you get to the biggest games, so hopefully, it is a reality check for everybody who were probably making us to be more famous than we are.”