England Women beat France 10-20 in Clermont

France Women 10-20 England Women, Clermont

Sarah Hunter led from the front with a double as England Women completed a 10-20 win over France Women in Clermont on Saturday.

This was also England's first win in French soil since 2012 as they overcame the home side after a 3-17 lead at half time.

France missed an early opportunity as a penalty attempt from fullback Jessy Tremouliere went wide but she made amends in the 13th minute with a three-pointer after a Katy Daley-McLean was charged for a dangerous tackle.

Nevertheless, England managed to level the scores at the end of the first quarter following a response from vice-captain Emily Scarratt.

The red rose ensured they had a stronger finish to the first half with back to back tries from Hunter in the 34th and 38th minutes and with Scarratt converting both the touchdowns they finished the first half with a vital 3-17 lead over the hosts.

France were unable to gain momentum at the start of the second half as they kicked their penalties to corner on a few occasions without yielding any result until the start of the final quarter when Packer was sin-binned and France capitalised on the numerical advantage as Camille Boudaud dotted down.

With Tremouliere kicking the extras the gap came down to seven points but Scarratt with a 73rd minute penalty kick ensured Simon Middleton's side completed a 10 point victory.