Highlights: Red Roses v France Women

England welcomed France Women to Twickenham for the second of their two-Test series. Catch up on all the highlights from a fiercely contested match.

[@trevnevit123]

One of the best games I’ve seen in a long time

[@Alanoffer]

I live in France and I w s just flicking through channels , I have no interest in rugby but my wife from the garden thought I’d gone mad I was shouting my head off I must congratulate the team on a fantastic win in the last minute . Can’t say enough about how they dug deep right at the end

[@edwardharris2388]

So proud of our girls in white

[@alicedell8595]

England put out the wrong side at first, but to come back with the changes shows true grit.

[@rhall579]

They pulled that out of the bag. Very exciting indeed!

[@catchmeifyoucan8684]

What a comeback!👍👍

[@nuirueu]

Well done ladies!

[@jungleflame6776]

awesome

[@oscarself2911]

Good winnnnnn

[@prospermubaiwa3789]

Ellie Kildunne is a special player

[@bendover9663]

She's soo fast, should of been a sprinter

[@prospermubaiwa3789]

@@bendover9663 scores brilliant tries. I just love seeing her in the Red Roses team. But i think she still needs to work on her defense positioning, the 2nd France try i think she could have the tackle early. Above all well done Red Roses

[@stevemathews9535]

Yes she is - lovely to watch. Her attacking qualities are a given and I'm sure that she will improve. defensively - watch out Sarah McKenna.

[@prospermubaiwa3789]

@@stevemathews9535 i think it feels great to be Simon Middleton right now, having such a big pool of players to choose from. Nice headache.

[@puckinhell622]

Bit of a ding dong match this. Both teams doing themselves proud!

[@1Molehill]

Marlee Packer has definetley slowed down in the last year, but she is still the ultimate Red Roses warrior.

[@aaeeturner]

Great game, France once again snatched defeat from the jaws. Anyone know who player of the match was?

[@1Molehill]

Abbey Ward, I think

[@1Molehill]

Hilarious. In the second half, whenever there's a scrum or ruck you can hear everyone shouting, but above that mighty Marlee Packer can be heard about 50db's more screaming her head off. Awesome

[@christopherforder8966]

Woman’s rugby is so much more sophisticated than the men’s and the woman on the red roses battled hard!!

[@twotone3070]

Why can't we have more footage? A genuine question.

[@oscarself2911]

What kind of footage would you want tho?

[@twotone3070]

@@oscarself2911 More playing footage.

[@sebpowers1429]

@@twotone3070 watch the match if you want more footage rather than the highlights?

[@oscarself2911]

@@twotone3070 I mean can’t you just watch the full 80 minutes instead and also they might be bringing out the extended highlights in the next coming days

[@twotone3070]

@@sebpowers1429 Where can I see the match?

[@MartinJG100]

00:15. It's that bouncing ball again :)

[@alex.1clark344]

Hello 👋

[@osalim1998]

2:53 there’s a french player who’s actually called Joué Joué? Born to play for France rugby

[@lolivey8393]

Joyeux. Basically means "happy"

[@1Molehill]

Ready to get shot down, but I think it's time to look for a different, first choice, inside centre.

[@SandSMat]

Good question, one that I have been asking for some time. Simon Middleton's insistence in playing Zoe Harrison out of position when there are at least ten 12s in the Allianz League baffles me. Scazz needs cover as well. I'm looking forward to seeing Beth Blacklock back playing as she looks good. I'm a fan of Katie Alder of Wasps, a little dynamo who is so influencial in her team.

[@1Molehill]

@@SandSMat Harrison does well a Saracens, but even when playing at 10 for England her form drops. With the return of Helena Rowland and others, I think Harrison will be down the pecking order for a Roses spot at 10. She has always been over rated for international duties. Questions to be asked when Red Roses contracts get renewed.

[@SandSMat]

@@1Molehill I totally agree with you about Zoe's performances for England and even at Sarries she is being eclipsed by Lisa Martin. 10 for the Red Roses doesn't concern me as we have what's left of KDM, Helena Rowland and I would give Emily Scott a run out as she has been on fire this year. Who are your candidates for centres to support the sublime pairing of Reed and Scazz?

[@1Molehill]

@@SandSMat At the top of Santa's wish list would be a younger Rachael Burford paired up with Scazz , rampaging around the park like the good old days. But in reality Tuima played well the other week & possibly Millie Wood as a pair of to be developed longer term. A small group of players who understand the word 'centre' and can be used in various combinations.

[@stevemathews9535]

@@1Molehill I was impressed with Laura Perrin of Sale Sharks, she seems to be of a similar physique to Scazz, ideal for breaking the line. Don't forget Tatyana Heard, she has been playing well.

[@jonchess8844]

Good game for sure, but this England team are aiming high and the Black Ferns would have mashed our ladies with that performance. Still, long time yet. Oh yes , thank God we have Emily Scarratt👍

[@toonarmy2979]

Half the 1st team were out injured or rested

[@jonchess8844]

@@toonarmy2979 True,

[@stevemathews9535]

@Brian Carter The problem for both of England's rugby teams is an inbred fear of NZ that was worse for the men until last World Cup. In the 2017 women's final the Red Roses were the better team in the first half but crumbled in the second when a couple of the senior player had poor games (no names no pack drill). I now believe that the potential of the current pool of players is better with some real stars available so I am confident. Watch out for Canada as the majority of their players are gaining valuable experience playing at the top level in the English and French leagues.

[@razmataz13drums]

@@stevemathews9535 it didnt help that from memory Nolli Waterman got injured so Scarratt played at 15 rather than 13, and england just dont practice enough with someone else at 13! (I mean I get why, and I would much rather have scaz on the pitch than not!). But I havent watched that game for a while and dont quite remember the nuances. But absolutely agree that England have a fear of NZ, we need to get over that! Hopefully lots of new talented young players dont have that weight of history on their shoulders and can play a bit freer.

[@stevemathews9535]

It was good to see the French turn up and give the Red Roses real competition. In fact the result hinged on a very dodgy penalty at the end and I suspect that the French would take it as a victory. Their encounters in the forthcoming World Cup are going to be tasty.

[@EvilFinian]

That was the opposite of a dodgy penalty, defensive player has the responsibility to not be on the wrong side. It was poor technique or a lack of concentration. The ref called it correctly

[@stevemathews9535]

@@EvilFinian I will of course bow to your superior knowledge of the rules but would tentatively suggest that it looks to me as if Elena Perry? is actually kneeling on the French player and impeding her exit. Putting head beneath the parapet now!

[@lolivey8393]

@@EvilFinian It was dodgy. The clearest case of milking a penalty I have ever seen. The english #16 putting a knee on the french #2 to get her stuck. I have often seen referees not penalising the stuck player in these kind of situations, because the supporting player is putting all her weight on her, without any need to.

[@lolivey8393]

@@joebloggs3551 I agree, but it's a hard thing to referee this situation. Yes, France is 100% delaying the ball in an illegal way. But it's also 100% the fault of the english player for preventing her to roll away. In a situation of fast ball, I would have agreed with the referee. But here, it's a pick and go situation, with a slow ball anyway. If the french player hadn't been here, it wouldn't have made much difference in the speed of delivery. It seems very harsh to litterally give the victory to england on a platter on such a call. This is the problem I had with the referee on this game. The french made many mistakes (as usual), but the referee made them pay too much for it. Giving the winning penalty for a situation where many referees wouldn't have blown their whistle. The yellow card for the 14. That call was harsh, because the referee says she hit her, but "hit" is way too strong for what happenend, it was more like putting her boot and then pushing than hitting. A simple penalty would have been enough. And on the other hand, France was utterly dominant in the scrum and yet hardly got any penalty from that (and was even penalised on some occasions). As a french, I thought the referring of the first half was one of the best I've ever seen in a women's game, and horrendous in the second. It was a good win from England, that last 15mn were fantastic (and the game as a whole), but France felt more deserving.

[@1Molehill]

Pleased don't do that again, it's to scary.