IRELAND 4 FRANCE 34
Garda Westmanstown RFC, Dublin, Saturday
WINGER Amael Vilanove scored a hat-trick as France eased to a comfortable victory in the first women’s international between the sides.
Vilanove grabbed her first two tries in the early stages, with Melissa Medina and Kaina Absi also nipping over to help establish a 20-0 lead by the 23rd minute.
Holly O’Dwyer hit back for the hosts on the half-hour but the visitors eased home with unanswered touchdowns in the second period for Medina, Perle Ramazeilles and Vilanove, while Lisa Diraison completed a three-goal contribution.
Ireland coach Matt Kennerson said: “We played a world-class team, we knew they would be good and we struggled to keep up at times.
“The score probably didn’t reflect the game. We were more competitive than that, but France aren’t ranked fourth in the world for no reason.
“We have a few things to work on, and we had a number of debutants, but there are some easy fixes and we’ll be working on those as we build towards the World Series in Toronto.
“We’d love to meet France again in the 2026 Women’s Rugby League World Cup.”
France coach Romain Maillot said: “We are very happy, but we also congratulate the Ireland team who played well, ran hard, never gave up and pushed us to keep our standards high.
“The conditions were very hot and our players are in their off-season, but they have been working on their conditioning and it was pleasing that we could see this in the game”
IRELAND: Cliodhna O’Sullivan, Aimee Clarke, Anna Potterton, Katie-Ann O’Neil, Holly O’Dwyer, Emma Kelly, Jade Walker, Orlaith McAuliffe, Polly Roberts, Stacy Hanley, Aifric Ni Ghibne, Storm Cobain, Iona McCusker. Subs: Megan Preston, Molly Boyne, Aine Rutley, Becky Webb
FRANCE: Manon Samarra, Amael Vilanove, Melissa Medina, Laureane Biville, Perle Ramazeilles, Justine Roses, Lisa Diraison, Leila Bessahli, Dorine Samarra, Salome Segala, Kaina Absi, Stecy Bessiere, Tallis Kuresa. Subs: Noemie Samuel, Anais Andral, Pauline Noe, Elodie Pacull
Referee: James Spencer (Ireland)