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France v England: Women’s Six Nations 2026 finale – rugby union live | Women’s Six Nations
Key events
For England, everything is proceeding as they have foreseen, as they waited out the intial French energy to then dominate the back end of the half
France will be ruing their inability to capitalise on a dominant first quarter that was let down by the common themes that ran throughout the half for them: terrible lineout, awful handling precision in tight, and lack of patience. This feels like and impossible task for Les Bleues now, even if they do start holding onto the ball and catching their own lineout.
Half Time!
That’s the end of the first forty minutes.
TRY! France 7 – 26 England (Ellie Kildunne)
40 mins. Jones takes the lineout quickly for one last attack and the ball moves through a few phases before Kildunne is found in farmer’s field of space out left to walk it in.
No conversion this time.
39 mins. Kildunne boots for space towards the French 22, but Barrat covers across and calls the mark. The ball comes back from a Rowland boot and Arbez this time fields it and boots to touch.
38 mins. England have been utterly ruthless, as is their way, and the longer this goes on the more France’s heads are appearing to drop. If they could just hold onto the bloody ball they just might still be in with a chance, but it already feels to be lost.
TRY! France 7 – 21 England (Jess Breach)
36 mins. A catch and drive moves forward a few metres before teh ball is released to teh backs where it goes all hands via three players to Breach. The winger has a bit of work to do to squirm out of Murie’s tackle to ground in the right corner.
Harrison boots a fantastic conversion from way out east.
34 mins. A penalty is won in the scrum by England and when the advantage come to nothing Harrison finds touch just outside the French 5m area.
31 mins. Stop me if you’ve heard this before. France have a great attacking platform on the 22 where they are working phases to pull the English defence around, but the visitors remain organised and the slight manic energy in France’s obsession with moving the ball quickly results in players being a little isolated. This is all the opportunity Cockayne needs to exploit Fall Reclou lack of support and steal the ball in the breakdown.
If France lose this match they will look back on quite a few moments in the first half and be fuming. Credit to England though, who are not panicking in the face of an onslaught and are winning the match.
TRY! France 7 – 14 England (Ellie Kildunne)
29 mins. The home side’s lineout is now officially a significant problem as yet another is lost to an English disruptive jumper. This ruined platform in the opposition half is soon punished as a loose ball is hacked on by Jones into backfield where Kildunne (who else?) is first to it to score.
Harrison adds two.
26 mins. Each time France have the ball they are making metres but the England defence are so far doing enough to scramble and not only snuff it out, but force handling errors. The latest is after a fantastic carry by M Feleu ono the angle in midfield.
24 mins. After a dodgy start from England it’s now France’s turn to be imprecise at key moments, this time it’s Soqeta allowing the ball to squirm from her grasp as she carried from a lineout maul. The Red Roses again muff their own possession and we’ll have French scrum.
TRY! France 7 – 7 England (Sarah Bern)
22 mins. A 50:22 from Arbez is completely wasted by a Lazarko overthrow in the lineout which England gobble up and feed to Moloney-McDonald to race 40 metres up the left of the pitch. A few phases later, they are feet from the French line and hammering away; there are four drives repelled by the blue defence before Bern rattles and burrows over.
18 mins. England attempt to get a foothold in the game but there’s another handling error, this time from Feunati. The home side can’t capitalise and soon after lose the ball themselves to hand a scrum to the Red Roses on the halfway line. Theywin it comfortably but their open play phases are utterly splintered by the phenomenal defensive power from France. The ball is eventually booted away, in what feels like a small act of surrender.
TRY! France 7 – 0 England (Pauline Bourdon-Sansus)
14 mins. The pressure comes from England after the lineout is won, but France whip the ball back and decide it’s time to make the home crowd’s day by running it from deep. It comes to the left via four passes for Murie to race 30 metres, skittling a couple of tacklers before finding Chambon on the inside who pops to Bourdon-Sansus to run in unopposed.
A dazzling, all hands, 80 metre blinder from Les Bleues.
Arbez converts.
12 mins. Bern wins a penalty at the next sscrum as she drops the hammer on her opposite prop. This brings England’s first attack and when it slows up Harrison kicks behind Arbez who clears to touch.
10 mins. More territory for France as their utter dominance so far continues, the latest attempt to score is halted after Harrison flaps at a pass. The ref calls a knock-on as she did not consider it deliberate; a very debatable call to say the least.
Bourdon-Sansus then knocks on as she attempts to play out of from the scrum
7 mins. T Feleu has her first crash ball run of the game from a scrum and Harrison does well to hold onto her leg for dear life to stop the big woman breaking the line. The ball is recycled quickly and Kebaya finds herself a mile offside in the defensive line.
That’s three penalties in the opening minutes given against England.
4 mins. The lineout is fluffed to the England side with Ives Campion getting amongst the French throw. Champon wins it back soon after give Fall Raclou an opportunity to rumble forward in the 22, but Cockayne is on her to grip the ball like a horseshoe crab and win a relieving not releasing penalty for the Red Roses.
2 mins. France move the ball in the backs from the lineout and begin working phases on halfway. It’s broadly going nowhere, but the Red Roses defence drifts offside to gift the home side a penalty.
Kick off!
Zoe Harrison receives a deep kick and immediately launches it to touch from her boot.
Officials today
Referee: Clara Munarini (Italy)
Assistant referees: Aimee Barrett‑Theron (South Africa), Amber Stamp‑Dunstan (Wales)
Television Match Official (TMO): Matteo Liperini (Italy}
Here come the teams on a bright, clear but breezy late afternoon in Bordeaux. Madoussou Fall Raclou is first out to mark the occasion of her 50th cap, soon followed by the rest who take their places for the anthems.
Pre-match reading
Get in touch before and throughout the match on the email with any and all things you would like to bring to my attentions. I love reading your thoughts, even when you are having a go at me, so don’t be shy.
Teams
France have kept a largely unchanged side with only two forward switches, bringing in Ambre Mwayembe and Axelle Berthoumieu while maintaining a settled backline.
England have made multiple changes, reinforcing the pack with returning players including Lilli Ives Campion, Sadia Kabeya and Maddie Feaunati who was a very late absentee last week. Ellie Kildunne moves from wing to full-back and meaning Jess Breach and Claudia Moloney-MacDonald will be in the wider berths. There are several bench options providing experience including Marlie Packer, the score of four tries vs Italy last time out.
France
15 Pauline Barrat, 14 Anaïs Grando, 13 Aubane Rousset, 12 Téani Feleu, 11 Léa Murie, 10 Carla Arbez, 9 Pauline Bourdon Sansus; 1 Ambre Mwayembe, 2 Mathilde Lazarko, 3 Assia Khalfaoui, 4 Siobhan Soqeta, 5 Madoussou Fall Raclot, 6 Axelle Berthoumieu, 7 Manae Feleu, 8 Léa Champon.
Replacements: 16 Elisa Riffonneau, 17 Yllana Brosseau, 18 Rose Bernadou, 19 Kiara Zago, 20 Cloé Correa, 21 Charlotte Escudero, 22 Alexandra Chambon, 23 Lina Queyroi.
England
15 Ellie Kildunne, 14 Jess Breach, 13 Megan Jones, 12 Helena Rowland, 11 Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, 10 Zoe Harrison, 9 Lucy Packer; 1 Mackenzie Carson, 2 Amy Cokayne, 3 Sarah Bern, 4 Lilli Ives Campion, 5 Delaney Burns, 6 Abi Burton, 7 Sadia Kabeya, 8 Maddie Feaunati
Replacements: 16 Connie Powell, 17 Liz Crake, 18 Maud Muir, 19 Demelza Short, 20 Marlie Packer, 21 Flo Robinson, 22 Holly Aitchison, 23 Emma Sing
Preamble
Welcome to Bordeaux, where the usual suspects are here to punch it out in the usual way to determine if anything will change about England usually winning a Grand Slam.
The route of both sides to this final serving has on paper looked similar, each docket detailing comfortable wins with a sprinkling of right hammerings dished out. But look a little closer and you will see that France have shown the more obvious progression in form and gameplan; each week their attacking patterns have looked sharper with their defence growing more resolute. England will point to their regularly changing line-up due to injury, plus the pre tournament losses to retirement or pregnancy, while not unreasonably mentioning their form has remained pretty damn good throughout all things considered. If any team will test the depth and resilience of the formidable England resources, it’s today’s opponents.
A win today for John Mitchell’s outfit and they carry home a fifth consecutive Slam with the home side looking to secure their first since 2018. Les Bleues may never have a better chance, but lest we forget Canada thought something similar in the last World Cup before they were pulverised in the final by the Red Roses.
The aperitif fixtures have been consumed, followed by the entrée matches and we now reach the main course. Or is it the dessert with it being at the end? Whether you have a sweet or savoury tooth, this is the one you want to sit down for.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
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