France women's rugby team overcomes five cards to defeat Australia 29-26

Discipline collapse and first-half rally

France secured a 29-26 victory over Australia in their second WXV Global Series fixture on 19 September 2026 at Stade Maurice-David in Aix-en-Provence. The match turned turbulent in the first half when English referee Holly Wood issued four cards against the French squad across a six-minute span. Prop Ambre Mwayembe received a 20-minute bunker red card in the 17th minute for a high tackle, followed by yellow cards for flanker Lea Champon and winger Lea Murie for high tackles, and a straight red card for lock Cloe Correa in the 23rd minute for contact with an opponent's eyes.

Down to 11 players for ten minutes, France conceded tries to Tania Naden in the 24th minute and Caitlyn Halse in the 28th minute, falling behind 19-0. As temporary suspensions ended, France returned to 14 players and countered before the interval. Winger Anais Grando scored in the 37th minute following a kick from captain Pauline Bourdon-Sansus, and fullback Emilie Boulard crossed the line in stoppage time, cutting the deficit to 19-12 by halftime.

External delay and second-half turnaround

The interval experienced a 15-minute delay after a municipal bus caught fire outside the stadium, generating thick black smoke and two audible explosions near the stands. When play resumed, Australia extended their lead in the 49th minute through a converted try by Piper Duck to make the score 26-12. Video officials subsequently disallowed a try by French hooker Elisa Riffonneau in the 53rd minute for failing to ground the ball over the try line.

France maintained pressure, scoring through Bourdon-Sansus in the 55th minute to reach 17-26 as Australia lost lock Leonard to a card. French number eight Charlotte Escudero also received a card in the 63rd minute. Riffonneau scored a validated try in the 68th minute, converted to bring France within two points at 24-26. Centre Teani Feleu breached the Australian defensive line in the 74th minute to score the winning try, sealing the five-try to four victory.

“It was chaos, but very high-level chaos, especially when we were 11 against 15, I had never seen that.”

Squad reactions and tournament schedule

The victory followed France's 28-14 opening-round defeat against New Zealand in Lyon one week earlier and an earlier loss to England in the Six Nations final in May. French head coach Francois Ratier stated that while technical tackling errors under pressure caused the disciplinary issues, the team's physical condition allowed them to finish stronger than Australia.

“There is quite a bit of frustration coming out of this match.”

The French captain added that the team had maintained discipline the previous week against the Black Ferns and needed to eliminate repeated defensive penalties. France completes their domestic WXV schedule on 26 September 2026 against Canada in La Rochelle, before traveling to New Zealand for three fixtures scheduled between 17 and 21 October 2026.