Report: France U21 v Scotland U21

Scotland got the game underway setting up to receive, with France pinning Scotland into their own 22 in the opening minutes, it was French prop Mailys Mailagi who went over the tryline after thundering into a strong Scottish defence, putting France in an early seven point lead.  

Following some scrappy handling and a strong scrum, France were able to ship the ball out to the wing and create space, allowing French speedster Alice Grandhomme to go over to push France’s lead to 14 following a successful conversion.  

Explosive attack from France looked to give the home side a push to their lead, but a brave effort to hold up the ball saw France be denied their opportunity. France dug in and scored their third try just moments later however, where Mailys Mailagi picked up her second try in just ten minutes.  

A quickly taken penalty allowed France to flow the ball through the hands to the right hand channel, where Alice Grandhome was able to sprint over the try line to pick up her second try of the afternoon, and France’s fourth in just 20 minutes.  

France shortly after faced a yellow card for foul play, with double try scorer Mailys Mailagi leaving the pitch and dropping France to 14 players. 

A strong Scottish lineout allowed Scotland their first entry into the French 22, but a loose pass saw France regain possession, showcasing a strong lineout of their own. Flowing hands again gave France the resources to build up a pacey attack, where Lylou Pedussaud being the one to score.  

With just five minutes remaining in the first half, France attempted to again charge through Scottish defence out wide, Poppy Fletcher however denied France the luxury, pulling Alice Grandhomme out into touch to turn possession over and push France out.  

With Scotland backed up onto their own goalline, France were eager to push their lead to forty points in the dying moments of the first half. A strong switching play saw Mailys Mailagi, who had not long returned after her yellow card, pick up a hattrick. This wouldn’t be her last of the half however…  

Following a strong supporting play, France were able to distribute the ball out to the wing, only for a strong tip pass to open up space for Mailagi to take her fourth try in just 40 minutes, drawing a close to their dominant first half.  

Half Time:  France U21 47 – 0 Scotland U21

France were the first to pick up real possession early in the second half but soon knocked the ball on to provide Scotland with an attacking scrum to build an attack off of, the visitors picked  up a scrum penalty to take them close to the halfway line. France were able to apply serious pressure to Scotland, with a perfectly precise end to end kick saw Jade Gamon with plenty of space infront of her to enter Scotland’s tryline.  

Strong and dominant phase play denied Scotland the opportunity to re organise in defence, leaving Anais Peralez to charge through the Scottish defensive line and under the posts. It wasn’t long before an almost identical try was scored by Oihana Tome-Belmonte, this time with a strong link up by both forwards and backs to put France in a dominant 64-point lead.  

After some emphatic attacking play, with a strong dummy pass to boot. French fly half Garance Merle swept into the Scottish try line to pick up a try of her own after orchestrating the French attack throughout the match, leaving France 11 tries up.  

Off the back of a ruck, Scrum half Justine Ogier popped a dummy pass to create space for herself to dot down for a try of her own, a clinical conversion placed France in an 80-point lead. Just a matter of minutes later, Alice Grandhomme picked up her hattrick following a perfectly timed pass. After another strong entry to the Scottish 22, the ball looked as if it had slipped out of French hands, but Justine Ogier was able to throw a perfect offload whilst being tackled to keep the ball alive, allowing France to score once again. 

Late tries for Daniel, Tregouet and Grandhomme completed the scoring.

Full time: France U21 113-0 Scotland U21

Scotland U21: Hannah Smyth; Emily Norval, Lisa Brown, Millie Warren, Scarlett Haddow; Poppy Mellanby,  Emily Love; Poppy Fletcher, Megan Hyland (Captain), Imogen Spence, Charlotte Russell, Gemma Thomson, Lucy Finch, Scarlet Down, Merryn Gunderson 

Replacements : Aicha Sutcliffe, Talei Tawake, Faye Sutherland, Aisla Merryweather, Catriona Moody, Ceitidh Ainsworth, Lucy MacRae, Nicole Flynn