By Rob Cole
Rowland Phillips paid tribute to his players’ character after Wales Women lost 52-3 to reigning Grand Slam champion France in their opening Six Nations game.
The gulf in class between France and the team that picked up the wooden spoon was evident from start to finish as the hosts scored nine tries in a record win.
But Head Coach Phillips said: “I am so proud of that effort because we were under immense pressure from the first to last minute.
“They didn’t buckle, which is a huge positive. France are probably the best team in the world after their win over New Zealand. This will be huge for the development of all the players.
“Some parts of our game were very good, others we need to work on. We know we’ve got the character when we haven’t got the ball. Now we’ve got to concentrate on getting more ball to show we can play a bit with it.
It really was a massacre in Montpellier, with only some brave Welsh defence stopping it from being an even bigger trouncing.
The Women’s Six Nations has developed into a two-tier system of the ‘haves’ and have nots’, and Wales and Scotland are certainly in the latter category at the moment.
With 100 clubs playing rugby in France, there is a much bigger rugby playing population for the selectors to call on and much more investment in the women’s game to make it a viable sport.
While you couldn’t fault the Welsh heart, courage and determination, the speed and skill levels of the French players were vastly superior.
It was always going to be a tough night for Carys Phillips’ side first-up in the championship as they faced last season’s champions and a team that beat New Zealand in the autumn.
Her father, Rowland, stuck to the policy of giving youth its chance and it was overwhelmed by the experience and expertise of the home side.
France came into the game with a few players missing on sevens duty, but still boasting 2018 World Rugby player of the year nominees Pauline Bourdon, captain Gaelle Hermet and Safi N’Diaye. That quality made a huge difference to a team that had won 10 of the last 12 games against Wales.
The concern now is that Wales have to travel to Italy this week to face an Italian team that beat Scotland 28-7 before hosting England in Cardiff. England ran in eight tries in a 51-7 win in Ireland in their opening game.
France were quickly into their stride and got off the mark with the first of a hat-trick of tries from hooker Caroline Thomas from a driving line-out that followed two power scrums.
She would repeat that process twice more on a dominant night for the home side as Wales struggled to match their physicality and spent most of the night without the ball.
That lead gradually grew as the pressure mounted. Outside half Camille Imart landed a penalty and then the bonus-point was secured before the break with further tries from the outstanding lock N’Diaye, Thomas again and left wing Lea Murie.
Wales only points in a first-half played totally on the back foot came from a 14th minute penalty from outside half Roby Wilkins after a great kick-chase from Jazz Joyce and a superb jackal by tight-head prop Amy Evans.
The points continued to flow in the second half for the free-flowing French, who had the stars of the show at No 8 and scrum-half in Romane Menager and Pauline Bourdon. Menager scored twice in the space of 11 minutes at the start of the second half before Thomas completed her hat-trick.
The rout was completed by a cruel interception try from replacement wing Doriane Constanty as she picked off a Wilkins pass five metres from the French line and then Murie bagged her second try of the night on the stroke of time.
There were some brave performances from the Welsh side, with Olympian Joyce the pick of the bunch along with locks Siwan Lillicrap and Mel Clay, but once again the gulf in class between the top sides in Europe and the Welsh was underlined both on the pitch and the scoreboard.
Scorers: France: Tries: C Thomas (5, 33, 58), R Menager (42, 51), L Murie (35, 80), S N’Diaye (19), D Constanty (63); Cons: Pen: C Imart (10); Wales: Pen: R Wilkins (14)
France: 15 Caroline Boujard; 14 Lan Jason; 13 Marine Menager; 12 Gabrielle Vernier; 11 Lea Murie; 10 Camille Imart; 9 Pauline Bourdon; 1 Lise Arricastre; 2 Caroline Thomas; 3 Clara Joyeux; 4 Lenaig Corson; 5 Safi N’Diaye; 6 Gaelle Hermet; 7 Celine Ferer; 8 Romane Menager; 16 Laure Touye; 17 Maylis Traore Dhia; 18 Sabina Argagnon; 19 Audrey Forlani; 20 Fiona Lecat; 21 Yanna Rivoalen; 22 Morgane Peyronnet; 23 Doriane Constanty
Wales: 15 Lauren Smyth; 14 Jasmine Joyce; 13 Hannah Jones; 12 Alicia McComish; 11 Lisa Neumann; 10 Robyn Wilkins; 9 Keira Bevan; 1 Caryl Thomas; 2 Carys Phillips; 3 Amy Evans; 4 Siwan Lillicrap; 5 Mel Clay; 6 Alisha Butchers; 7 Manon Johnes; 8 Beth Lewis; 16 Kelsey Jones; 17 Cara Hope; 18 Cerys Hale; 19 Natalia John; 20 Alex Callender; 21 Ffion Lewis; 22 Elinor Snowsill; 23 Jess Kavanagh