France set up Grand Slam decider with England after win over Wales

France sealed a 40-0 win over Wales at Cardiff Arms Park to make their final-round clash with old foes England a Grand Slam decider on home soil.

At the end of round four, only a point separates England and France at the top of the table.

First-half tries from Annaelle Deshayes, Joanna Grisez, and Romane Menager gave the visitors a 19-0 lead at the break before Gabrielle Vernier added the bonus-point score early in the second half.

Manae Feleu scored the fifth try for the visitors in the 58th minute, and Grisez rounded off the match with her second try of the afternoon.

Anne-Cecile Ciofani was shown a yellow card in the second minute of the match for making head contact in a tackle on Gwenllian Pyrs, but France regrouped to score the opening try through prop Deshayes after a quickly taken lineout from Pauline Bourdon Sansus.

In Wales’s first real opportunity in the 22, France turned the tables to score their second as Grisez sped away solo with a stunning 95-metre interception, converted by Lina Queyroi to make the score 14-0 to Les Bleues after 17 minutes.

The French back row combined with flare to score their third try, as Teano Feleu picked up the ball from the back of the scrum and went running into space, with Menager alongside her in support. Feleu escaped a tackle before she released the pass to Menager, who dotted down for a well-worked score. The conversion attempt strayed wide, but France took a 19-0 lead into half-time.

Despite the scoreline at the break, Wales had held 69% possession and territory in the first half, carried 78 times to France’s 27, and made 25 tackles to France’s 97. The ruthlessness of the French defence however denied Ioan Cunningham’s side any opportunities to covert the statistics into points.

France added the bonus point in the 45th minute with a perfect pass from Bourdon Sansus setting up Vernier to dart ten metres to score under the posts, converted easily by Queyroi.

Despite Wales initially holding France up, the fifth try soon followed in the second wave of attack when captain Manae Feleu carried hard across the line, again converted by Queyroi.

A second yellow card for France was shown in the 63rd minute, this time to prop Assia Khalfaoui for head contact.

Grisez scored the final try of the afternoon as she collected a loose pass from Wales and did the damage in the red zone. Morgane Bourgeois had the final word as she added the conversion to take their points tally up to 40.

The result means that Wales will not be able to replicate their third-place finish from the year prior in this year’s Women’s Six Nations, losing a place in 2024’s WXV 1 in the process.

France, who were already confirmed to finish in the top two before the match against Wales, will face England on 27th April in a Grand Slam decider in Bordeaux. They have already secured their space in the top level of WXV, to be played in Canada in September and October this year.

England and France, as well as the yet-to-be-confirmed third-place team in the Women’s Six Nations, will join the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series in WXV 1.

The all-important Six Nations third place, which holds both Rugby World Cup 2025 and WXV 1 (2024) qualification, will remain in the balance until the final day of the tournament.

Ireland vs Scotland looks to be the match that will decide the third place, with Scotland currently occupying the space with eight points after a historic first win in Italy, and Ireland in fifth with six points.

Italy, who will face a winless Welsh side on ‘Super Saturday’ and are currently fourth (six points) could take third place if they secure a bonus-point win against Wales, and if Ireland vs. Scotland ends in a draw without any bonus points for Scotland.

The teams who finish fourth and fifth in the Women’s Six Nations will compete in WXV 2, won last year by Scotland and held in South Africa for a second year.

The sixth-placed team at the end of the Six Nations will enter into a playoff with Spain, the winners of the Rugby Europe Championship, to determine whether they will be placed in WXV 2, or WXV 3, which was won by Ireland in 2024.

For the Six Nations teams who missed out on the RWC2025 qualification, a further six places are available at WXV for the highest-finishing teams who are yet to have secured their place.