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French flair powers Les Bleues into quarters: Four takeaways from France v Brazil
By Finn Morton at Sandy Park, Exeter
France are through to the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, beating Brazil 84-5 at Exeter’s Sandy Park. It didn’t take long for Les Bleues to start scoring points, making their mark on the scoreboard in the fourth minute and never looking back.
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Emilie Boulard crossed for the opener before captain Marine Menager scored two minutes later, and then Pauline Bourdon was next to touch down. France held a 21-nil lead after just 12 minutes, and it was a sign of things to come, as they ran away with a big first half lead.
Les Bleues went into half-time with a dominant 53-nil lead, whereas Brazil struggled to fire any shots. France scored another six tries in the opening 40-minute period, with Menager completing a hat-trick of tries just before the break.
HSBC SVNS Series star Seraphine Okemba crossed for her second two minutes into the second half, with the French piling on another 14 points before the hour mark. But the moment of the Test was Biana Silva racing away to score Brazil’s first ever Women’s Rugby World Cup try.
French flair powers Les Bleues into quarter-finals
France are through to the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals yet again.
After beating Italy in the opening round of pool play, France needed to beat Brazil to secure their spot in the knockout rounds. Having scored three converted tries before the 13-minute mark, it became clear early on that this match was indeed theirs.
But let’s focus, for a moment, on how they scored – or at least got themselves into a position to build on their lead.
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It was unpredictable, frantic, exciting – all the ingredients needed for the French to play at their best, to play with flair. Emilie Boulard was sensational at fullback, Marine Menager was all class on the wing, and Paulien Bourdon Sansus was conducting affairs at scrum-half.
France weren’t afraid to attack from anywhere and that was the not-so-secret reason behind their success early on. Brazil were constantly running backwards, trying to evade the French line-speed, or prevent another try in transition, but the French were a class apart.
Les Bleues clocked in with more than 520 running metres and a staggering 16 line breaks before the 70th minute. Brazil just weren’t able to keep up, tackling at about 66 per cent, as they’d missed 55 tackles by the 68-minute mark.
‘French flair’ maybe a cliche but it was evident in Sunday’s all-court performance. France had made a lot of changes to their starting side after beating Italy, but the point still stands: Les Bleues are through to the quarters, and they have the game plan needed to be a contender.
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Another SVNS Series star makes their mark
With France making 11 changes to their starting side to play Brazil, HSBC SNVS Series superstar Seraphine Okemba was given a golden chance to shine on the biggest stage in women’s 15s – named in the backrow alongside Lea Champon and Marie Morland.
In an article for RugbyPass, Okemba was highlighted before the World Cup as one of the 10 best sevens converts set to play at the tournament. Jorja Miller and Risi Pouri-Lane have impressed for New Zealand, and Florene Symonds has scored a couple of tries for Canada.
Then there’s Okemba, who is a powerful ball-carrier who also boasts an impressive skillset, As a regular standout for France on the SVNS Series, Okemba is certainly a player to watch in rugby’s shorter format, and the same can be said for the 15-player game as well.
After taking out the Rising Player Award in April after the Women’s Six Nations, Okemba was all set for the showpiece event in England. Okemba came off the bench in France’s 24-nil win over Italy before being named to start at blindside flanker against Brazil.
Okemba helped Les Bleues set the tone early on, showcasing some genuine skill to pick up a loose ball, before quickly getting a pass off to Marie Morland for a try. That try assist set up France’s second five-pointer – very early on in their 53-nil first-half rout.
France scored another five tries before Okemba was involved again, with the SVNS convert the one diving over the line on that occasion. Les Bleues had been relentless in attack, and that time it was Okemba who reaped the rewards.
Okemba scored another a few minutes into the second term.
With some noticeable involvements in attack, solid work around the breakdown, and reliable work on the defensive side of the ball, it was a promising starting debut for yet another SVNS Series superstar at the 15s Rugby World Cup.
Winning fullbacks stand out at Exeter’s Sandy Park
Braxton Sorensen-McGee enjoyed an eye-catching performance for New Zealand on Sunday, with the teenager receiving Player of the Match honours after scoring a hat-trick. It was a superb performance from a young fullback.
An hour or so after Sorensen-McGee and the Black Ferns had walked off the field at Sandy Park in Exeter, France got their match underway against Brazil. In that match, just like the first, a fullback was one of the clear standouts.
Emilie Boulard didn’t feature in France’s 23 to take on Italy, but the 26-year-old made the most of every minute to start against Brazil. Almost from minute one, Boulard seemed to have more space and time than other players.
It didn’t take long for Boulard to make a difference. By the 25-minute mark, the outside back had already carried the ball for more than 100 metres. Captain Marine Menager was among those who reaped the rewards of the No. 15’s extraordinary attacking play.
Moment of the match
Brazil never gave up and the thousands at Exeter’s Sandy Park recognised that. France scored a lot of tries – including nine in the first half alone – but the loudest cheer of the Test came inside the final 20 minutes, with Bianca Silva racing away for Brazil’s sole try.
It was Brazil’s first try at a Women’s Rugby World Cup.
With France up 72-nil, Silva scored against the run of play, with the replacement running at least half the length down the right side of the field. The cheer from the crowd was deafening, incredible, simply special – everything fans should want from a Rugby World Cup.
As the game clock ticked closer and closer to full-time, Brazil’s contingent of fans just seemed to get louder and louder. These fans helped create a carnival atmosphere at the ground, to the point where there’s little doubt in saying that Silva’s try was the moment of the match.
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