Women’s Rugby World Cup roundup: France blitz South Africa to set up Ireland quarter-final

France enjoyed a one-sided 57-10 victory over South Africa at Franklin’s Gardens to take top spot in Women’s Rugby World Cup Pool D, scoring nine tries with two each for Emilie Boulard and Joanna Grisez. They will take on Ireland at Sandy Park in Exeter next Sunday in the last eight.

The scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus earned a second straight player of the match award for orchestrating France’s highest score over the Springbok Women in front of a sellout crowd of 15,000.

On the back of great set-pieces, Sansus’s quick thinking transfixed the South Africans, bringing them to earth after beating Italy last weekend to qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time.

South Africa were not helped by Chumisa Qawe’s head-on-head tackle of France’s Marine Ménager. Qawe’s yellow card was upgraded to a 20-minute red. By the time it was 15 versus 15, France increased the score from 12-3 to 31-3.

“We really wanted to show how big we are on defence and let go in attack, have fun and play the rugby we like to play,” the France co-captain Manaé Feleu said. “The girls had a lot of fun.”

South Africa were consoled by a 50-meter solo try by Nadine Roos at the death.

Italy’s Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi claimed a hat-trick of tries as her side proved much too strong for World Cup newcomers Brazil, winning 64-3 at Northampton to claim third spot in Pool D. Italy surpassed their previous highest World Cup score with the 12-try romp and in the process upheld their record of claiming at least one win in every World Cup appearance.

World Cup newcomers Brazil struggled to handle Italy’s power and speed. Italy’s Ostuni Minuzzi and Francesca Granzotto both scored hat-tricks, and replacement back Gaia Buso bagged a late double while Brazil was down to 14 women. Lock Sofia Stefan, who celebrated her 100th Italy test last weekend, scored the last try.

Japan earned a first pool match win in 31 years by seeing off Spain 29-21 in York. Spain, who led 14-5 at half-time, finished its seventh World Cup without a win for the first time.

Already dominating territory and possession, Japan simply became more patient in the second half and frustrated Los Leonas into conceding 16 penalties.

The Japan captain and flanker, Iroha Nagata, who went to the 2017 World Cup as a center, busted three tackles to open the second-half scoring. Prop Wako Kitano barged over next, followed by the wing Komachi Imakugi. The Spain scrum-half, Anne Fernández de Corres, received a yellow card for head contact on Japan’s Haruka Hirotsu, who went off for a head injury check. Her brief replacement, the No 8 Jennifer Nduka, finished a 20-phase attack for Japan’s fifth try.