Women's

Maggie Alphonsi on Round 3: Thrilling France, electric Italy and Super Saturday preview

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The final week of the Women’s Six Nations is upon us and each team will be giving it everything on the training field this week to make sure they are ready for Super Saturday.

The final week of the Women’s Six Nations is upon us and each team will be giving it everything on the training field this week to make sure they are ready for Super Saturday.

I used to love the business end of the competition, especially when there was a trophy or Grand Slam up for grabs.

There’s a real adrenaline rush coming into a final week but you have to strike a balance between intensity and composure. You can’t get too excited on Monday or Tuesday, it’s just energy wasted, and you have to be smart with how you train.

Training will also have an extra edge with competition for places so fierce within the England and France squads ahead of a final everyone will want to play in.

If you’re the player in possession of a shirt, you hope you’ve done enough in the previous rounds but a good training week is the best way for others to stake a claim.

These are weeks to savour as players and I already can’t wait for next weekend!

SET-PIECE WILL BE KEY BATTLE GROUND

I mentioned last week the improvements in conditioning and nutrition within the women’s game in recent years, and video analysis is no different.

When I started out at club level, not all the games were filmed – and if they were, it would often be wobbly footage from someone stood on the sidelines, accompanied by their chatting!

It wasn’t that teams didn’t want to do it, they just didn’t have the resources to do it, but thankfully the options available now are a world away.

Having played each other regularly in recent years, most recently during a two-match series in the autumn, England and France will be well aware of each other’s strengths.

The French are traditionally strong in the set-piece, as they showed against Ireland, and England will look to fight fire with fire – the battle between these two has long been about dominating those areas.

England will target the breakdown to try and slow the ball down and prevent France unleashing their backs, while I expect to see the Red Roses make use of their kicking game to pin their opponents into corners.

It’s also important, from an English point of view, to focus on their own strengths rather than worrying too much about stopping France.

LES BLEUES OUT FOR REVENGE

England have the recent edge in this fixture – but that always makes you wonder when the tide will turn.

I had times as a player when you are beaten by certain teams and it puts fire in your belly, that feeling bubbles up inside you. You tell yourselves ‘one day we’ll beat them and it will be memorable’. You feel revenge is on the cards at some point – it might be on Saturday.

We always had close matches against France in my time with the Red Roses, often games which would decide the Championship.

I vividly remember our Round 1 trip to France in 2014, when we lost in front of a big crowd. We were gutted but it fuelled our fire and I think that’s one of the reasons we won the World Cup later that year – losing that game really stirred us up.

France will be eager to get that chip off their shoulder this weekend – but England will be in no mood to let the Championship slip from their grasp. Either way, we are in for a treat.

THRILLING FRANCE AND ELECTRIC ITALY TAKE ROUND 3 SPOILS

We saw two high-scoring games in Round 3 and I was both surprised and impressed with the margin of France’s victory in the Pool B decider against Ireland, especially as they had made eight changes.

Strength in depth has been a key factor in this Championship and it showed again in Dublin. France’s depth allowed them to try new combinations and use their bench effectively – they looked as good as they did in Round 1, if not better.

They know how to manage a game over 80 minutes and every aspect of their performance – strategy, tactics, the technical side – was world class.

Ireland will be disappointed with their discipline – their penalty count was too high – and defensively they struggled at times against a French team who break tackles for fun.

But Adam Griggs’ side will only get better and their third/fourth-place play-off against Italy on Saturday should be a cracker.

Italy were brilliant against Scotland. It is only two years since they finished second and they continue to show they are a good side with some really talented players.

You can never write Manuela Furlan off and she shone with a brilliantly taken hat-trick, while Beatrice Rigoni was everywhere.

Italy’s backline performed in a similar manner to France – looking for offloads, breaking tackles and creating chaos by applying consistent pressure.

It was a really entertaining match to watch and Scotland dug in. I have seen signs of progress from Bryan Easson’s side, despite the results, and they have pulled together in the absence of the influential Jade Konkel.

Saturday’s match with Wales, who have also showed impressive spirit so far, will give both sides a chance to end on a high.

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Another tricky XV to select this week, with plenty of impressive performers, but here we go…

15 Emilie Boulard (France)

Scored one, set up another and continues to show why she’s keeping Jessy Trémoulière out the team. Boulard is really enjoyable to watch and I’d be voting for her score as Try of Round 3!

14 Manuela Furlan (Italy)

Often plays at full-back but this performance on the wing showed her versatility. Furlan finished all three tries really well and led by example.

13 Carline Boujard (France)

I’ve had to push her inside to 13 as there were too many good wingers this weekend! Boujard finds space where there isn’t any and looked electric in finishing her two tries.

12 Beatrice Rigoni (Italy)

Won the Player of the Match award after a two-try display and was central to Italy’s attack throughout. Rigoni showed great vision with her excellent pass for Furlan’s third try and was everywhere over the 80 minutes.

11 Cyrielle Banet (France)

Her first try was brilliant, stealing the ball and dotting down in the blink of an eye. It doesn’t matter who France slot in to their back three, they all perform, and Banet looked really good.

10 Caroline Drouin (France)

France changing their half-back pairing could have been a risk but Drouin unleased the backline and gave them so many opportunities. Italy’s Veronica Madia and Stacey Flood, who came off the bench for Ireland, also played well.

9 Sara Barattin (Italy)

Italy needed their experienced players to step up and pull the strings and Barattin did that, keeping her side moving forwards and making good breaks.

1 Annaëlle Deshayes (France)

The whole French pack were really solid and both props stood out. Deshayes was strong in the scrum throughout.

2 Lana Skeldon (Scotland)

This was a tough one. Agathe Sochat played well, Cliodhna Moloney scored a try but I’ve gone with Lana Skeldon as Scotland’s lineout was strong and helped them put up a good fight.

3 Rose Bernadou (France)

Carried well, solid in the scrum and Ireland struggled to put her down when she got moving.

4 Emma Wassell (Scotland)

Continued her consistent Championship. Wassell was a commanding presence in the lineout and scored the try her performance deserved.

5 Safi N’Diaye (France)

On the bench in Round 1 but made her mark this time around. It takes a lot to stop N’Diaye from five metres out and her try was typical of her strength.

6 Ilaria Arrighetti (Italy)

Carried well, offered really nice supporting lines and has the ability to offload. Arrighetti reminds me of Jake Polledri, she is so comfortable with ball in hand and looks like she could play anywhere in the back row.

7 Marjorie Mayans (France)

I know from playing against her what a defensive machine Mayans is and she showed it yet again in a Player of the Match display. She makes tackling look very easy and puts big players down. She played 6 at the weekend but is more than capable of covering 7.

8 Romane Ménager (France)

We talk about France’s strength in depth and here is a prime example. Ménager came off the bench, scored a brilliant try and helped set up another. She had a huge impact in her 32 minutes on the field.