The first hurdle has been cleared without mishap! At Exeter’s Sandy Park on Saturday, the France players began their World Cup against Italy, with the memory still fresh of the hiding handed out by England in a warm-up match two weeks earlier at Mont-de-Marsan (6-40). That lack of confidence was felt in their display against the Squadra Azzurra, not exactly a polished one despite the win and the margin (24-0).

On the one hand, it took until the 27th minute for France to get on the scoreboard, thanks to a try full of dash from the quick wing Joanna Grisez. It was the only flash of light in a first half that was fairly dull in attack, a mix of sloppiness and poor decisions (10-0). In the second half the French took a little sail out of their game plan and were able to add two more tries, both from the forwards, scored by prop Assia Khalfaoui (47′) and then by the ever-present back-rower Charlotte Escudero on the hour (61′).

But the fourth try, and the bonus point that went with it, never came despite promising positions late on. Once again the fault lay with too much imprecision in open play and a lack of efficiency in the scoring zone.

A clean sheet to start the World Cup

On the other hand, the coaching duo of Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz can approach the rest of the competition with the satisfaction of having beaten their main rival in Pool D. If the attacking game did not run like clockwork, the defence was a genuine plus, since France did not concede a single point and generally left Italy nothing but crumbs in this match, apart from one second-half chance snuffed out by centre Gabrielle Vernier. Very impressive on her return to the France starting line-up, the Blagnac player was in fact named player of the match. An award she could have shared with Charlotte Escudero, who scored a try and made more tackles than anyone else in the game (17, with one missed).

Positives, then, all the same, and they were what co-captain Marine Ménager wanted to take from it first of all when speaking to broadcaster TF1 straight after the final whistle. “It was a very brave performance from the team. There are inevitably a lot of details to sort out, especially in attack, because we had some waste that we can put right very quickly. In any case we did not lack desire, we showed a good face and defensively we were very solid. The DNA of our team runs through the defence, we saw that tonight, and if we can show a better face in attack, we’ll have a big World Cup”.

For her and her team-mates, the immediate future is called Brazil, whom they will meet next Sunday at the same Sandy Park in Exeter. An opponent who look a good deal weaker than Italy, and against whom France will be able to fine-tune their attacking connections and build steadily through a World Cup in which they are outsiders.