{"id":385406,"date":"2025-08-30T16:45:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T16:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/385406\/"},"modified":"2025-08-30T16:45:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T16:45:15","slug":"france-v-brazil-match-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/385406\/","title":{"rendered":"France v Brazil match preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

France, as expected, are using the depth of their squad as they take on Brazil for the very first time. Just four players remain from their impressive opening 24-0 win over Italy, but the big news is the return of talismanic No.9 Pauline Bourdon Sansus – back after a two-match ban.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For As Yaras it is a chance to test themselves against one of the very best. All eyes are on the white line, with Brazil openly targeting a first RWC try. Either way, there will tons of colour, joy and commitment on show in Exeter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kick-off<\/strong>: 16:45 BST, Sunday, 31 August<\/p>\n

Venue<\/strong>: Sandy Park, Exeter<\/p>\n

If you have a ticket already, make sure you read Canada international and Exeter Chiefs legend Emily Tuttosi’s Guide to her home-from-home<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How to watch<\/strong>: Head here to get a last-minute ticket.<\/a><\/p>\n

Or check out our Global Guide to the TV options<\/a> in your area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

France team\u00a0<\/p>\n

France’s key player<\/strong>: It is impossible to ignore Pauline Bourdon Sansus. Arguably the world’s best scrum-half, she is central to so much of France’s best stuff. Renewing her halfback partnership with Toulouse teammate Lina Queyroi at this stage of the tournament is great news for Les Bleues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brazil team<\/p>\n

Brazil’s key player<\/strong>: Number eight Iris Coluna has been a stalwart of Brazilian rugby and the 35-year-old, vice-captain, is intending to lead from the front against the mighty French. Expect plenty of energy and no little passion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What they said:\u00a0<\/p>\n

France co-head coach Ga\u00eblle Mignot:\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We\u2019ve said it from the start \u2013 we want to build momentum. There was frustration in attack against Italy, some areas just didn\u2019t click. When you get into the red zone 15 times and don\u2019t come away with points, you know something\u2019s missing.<\/p>\n

“Against Brazil the focus is on us. We need to finish our chances every time they come.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Of course there was relief after that first match against the toughest team in the pool, but above all there was frustration that we hadn\u2019t delivered a more complete performance. We\u2019ve spent three months preparing very specific areas, and in attack we weren\u2019t at the level we wanted.<\/p>\n

“This weekend we\u2019ll have lots of possession, plenty of turnover ball \u2013 and in those situations, precision is everything.”<\/p>\n

France captain Marine M\u00e9nager:<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a first for me (being sole captain without usual co-captain Manae Feleu). I\u2019ll be discovering some things, especially around what happens before and during the game. I\u2019ll need support from the forwards because of my position, and also when it comes to communicating with the referee \u2013 my English isn\u2019t strong enough. But I\u2019ll be well supported: Agathe [Gerin] will be there to help me with that during the match.”<\/p>\n

Brazil head coach Emiliano Caffera:\u00a0<\/p>\n

“In South America, like in the men\u2019s game; we have a potential in rugby. We need a structure; we are one of the two nations from 15 in South America. The other one, Colombia, was strong but there is a lot of change which has stopped them. We need to be with a lot of countries playing 15s; if not, we can\u2019t grow.<\/p>\n

“All the 15s-playing nations play too far away from us. We don\u2019t have championships to play for. Maybe this is a way to improve women\u2019s rugby in South America but it\u2019s not easy, we need a lot of things. We want to be the first country to pave the road for women\u2019s rugby in South America.”<\/p>\n

Brazil captain Eshyllen Coimbra:\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We felt like we were ready, to be able to lead out for Brazil for the first time. We were living the dream for everyone! We felt proud of our dream coming true, we have had each other\u2019s back, being together, not because it\u2019s just our dream but the people who came before us too.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"France, as expected, are using the depth of their squad as they take on Brazil for the very…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385407,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[2000,299,36,661],"class_list":{"0":"post-385406","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-france","11":"tag-text"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115118730482642378","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}