Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Marine Menager of France during 2025 Women's Six Nations.Alamy Stock Photo FreeJob Done Unimpressive France stay on course for Grand Slam showdown Les Bleus came from 21-12 behind at half-time to beat Italy 34-21 in Parma. 4.15pm, 19 Apr 2025 Share options FRANCE WILL go to Twickenham next weekend hoping to achieve the women’s Six Nations Grand Slam, having come from 21-12 behind at half-time to beat Italy 34-21 in Parma on Saturday. However, the laboured manner of the victory suggests champions England, who should dispose of Scotland later on Saturday, will have little trouble in successfully defending their title. The French — the last side to beat England in the competition, but that was back in 2018 — relied on two late tries. Marine Menager and Alexandra Chambon finally put distance between themselves and their resilient hosts. “We said at half-time, do not lose our heads,” said Menager, whose twin sister Romane scored a try earlier in the second half. Advertisement “The key was not to panic, to slowly regain a foothold in the match. “That is what we did.” The Italians fully deserved their lead at half-time, outscoring the visitors three tries to two, hooker Silvia Turani touching down their third right on the stroke of half-time. Morgane Bourgeois, scorer of one of the French tries in the first half, reduced the deficit with a penalty in front of the posts early in the second half. However, this failed to spark a points avalanche by the French, whose gamble to spurn a kick at goal and go for a try failed as sterling Italian defence forced a turnover. Nevertheless, eventually French pressure told, flanker Romane Menager going over under the posts, and Bourgeois converted to give them the lead in the 55th minute. Bourgeois, though, missed a great opportunity to extend the lead, sending a kickable penalty wide of the posts with 10 minutes remaining. The Bordeaux star was guilty of an even worse miss three minutes later, failing to convert from in front of the posts. Fortunately for her, first Marine Menager and then Chambon wore down the tired Italian defence to put a more positive look to the scoreboard than the victors’ performance merited. Their scrum-half, Pauline Bourdon Sansu,s said people may write off their chances, but they would go to England with belief in themselves. “We will play our game, we have nothing to lose,” she said. “We have been chasing this prize since 2018, and we want to end that drought.” – © AFP 2025 Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Unimpressive France stay on course for Grand Slam showdown”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Unimpressive France stay on course for Grand Slam showdown”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. 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