The USA women are into the semifinals at Cape Town despite a bit of an up-and-down day in South Africa.
The Eagles had already clinched a place in the quarterfinals when they faced France on Saturday, and it was a good thing as the French controlled this game.
It was close at 7-0 at halftime but the French were starting to benefit from the long reach of some of their players (making for good fends and tying the ball up) and were powerful in contact.
For their part, the Eagles made some ill-advised passes and when players were trying to push the pace they seemed a bit frantic.
Head Coach Emilie Bydwell gave some additional time to players who don’t play a ton and while Alex Sedrick scored a try open a quick tap at the end of the game, she didn’t delay her touchdown a few seconds to ensure the game was over—it’s a small game awareness thing but some of the connections between the established players and the non-established players fell flat.
France 31, USA 7.
