It took France 27 minutes before they broke the deadlock against Italy in their first pool game of the Women's Rugby World Cup at Sandy Park in Exeter with winger Joanna Grisez outsprinting the defence for their first try.
Italy battled and frustrated France with their scrambling defence. On the stroke of half-time Morgane Bourgeois pounced on the ball for a try but the video referee couldn't decipher if Alyssa D'Inca had grounded the ball first, instead Italy were awarded a goal-line drop-out.
Les Bleus went on to win the Pool D opener 24-0 as Assia Khalfaoui and Charlotte Escudero added two more in the second half in what was a tough contest.
FRA 🇫🇷 7-0 🇮🇹 ITA
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 23, 2025
Grisez breaks the deadlock for France after incessant pressure from Les Bleus. Italy fighting and working hard to break France's rhythm but not challenging their defence at this stage.
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In what was a day of dominant displays for winning teams Australia set a competition record with a 73-0 thumping of Samoa, scoring 11 tries in a strong start to their Pool A campaign on Saturday.
Australia were merciless with seven first-half tries against Samoa. Desiree Miller scored a hat-trick of tries, with 18-year-old Caitlyn Halse and replacement Adiana Talakai each dotting down twice in a completely one-sided match at the Salford Community Stadium.
In pool B Canada's 65-7 win over Fiji at York Community Stadium saw fullback Julie Schell score six tries in the space of 22 second half minutes.
Canada, who are second in the World Rugby rankings, scored four first-half tries, giving them a healthy lead, then Schell's scores in the 50th, 52nd, 54th, 61st, 69th, and 71st minutes stole the show.
Her double hat-trick, however, was not a record. Portia Woodman, scored eight for New Zealand against Hong Kong in 2017.
Schell's double hat-trick came with the fullback running from deep with pace and power to repeatedly break through the opposing defence.
"A guy over there told me he would give me $200 if I scored, so I need to go and speak to him," she said of the inspiration she received from a spectator.
"I think as a team we didn't start as we wanted to, but we had some calm chats at half-time and ramped it up."
Schell had only scored three tries in 25 Canada appearances before Saturday. Her double hat-trick, however, was not a record for the tournament. Portia Woodman scored eight for New Zealand against Hong Kong in 2017.
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