Simon Middleton’s England side will face their biggest challenge of the World Cup so far when they take on France in Whangarei on Saturday.
Things have just got a little more serious. The favourites for the tournament started poorly against Fiji last Saturday before going through the gears and scoring 10 second-half tries for an 84-19 win.
Listening to captain Sarah Hunter, who will win a record-equalling 137th cap, list off the things England did wrong in that game earlier in the week made you want to look at the score again and check it was correct. Fourteen tries and the skipper still was not happy.
England started that game as bleary-eyed as their fans back home, who had set the alarms for 4.45am. They need to be quicker out of the blocks this time, even if UK viewers have the luxury of a lie-in until the 8am kick-off.
France won their opener against South Africa 40-5, but in what is expected to be a tight game, a bonus-point win would guarantee England’s place in the knockouts and just about ensure they top their pool, with a game against South Africa still to come.
But France are something of an unknown quantity for the Red Roses. They changed their coach in May, with Thomas Darracq, a former scrum-half, taking over. Darracq was previously a strength and conditioning specialist with the French Federation, helping the women win the 2014 Grand Slam.
A graduate in sports psychology from the University of Bordeaux, he has spent the week talking up England and describing them as a “machine” and a “mountain” that stands in front of his side. The mind games spread to the women’s game, too.
“They have got a new coaching team in there, so we haven’t beaten that coaching team, and it is bit of a new set up for them,” said Middleton, not rising to the bait. “They have got a few differences to their game we have got to be aware of. Whether it was one win, or 10 wins, or 10 losses, it is a World Cup.”
France have made the semi-finals in seven of the eight women’s global tournaments and look certainties to join England in the last eight from Pool C. The top two in each of the three pools go through, along with the two best third-placed teams, and Middleton, who has grasped the maths, does not see tomorrow’s game as win-or-bust.
It is a huge game, because it is a World Cup game and two of the biggest hitters in the competition.
“It is not terminal for either side whichever way it goes,” he added. “It probably won’t even affect who we play further down the line. It is a huge game, because it is a World Cup game and two of the biggest hitters in the competition, but ultimately will it make a massive amount of difference going forward into the knockout stages? Probably not, to be absolutely honest.”
Middleton has also had a good look at the French side, but only mentioned two when asked which of them would he like in his squad.
The No8 Romane Menager and lock Madoussou Fall are big ball carriers for England to be wary of, and in scrum-half Laure Sansus they have one of the best in the world. Agathe Sochat has come in at hooker, with Laure Touye dropping to the bench in the only change to the side that overwhelmed South Africa.
England have flanker Marlie Packer back, ahead of player of the match against Fiji, Sadia Kabeya, who is omitted from the 23 entirely. Packer, a World Cup winner in 2014, has recovered from a foot problem.
