Wales Women continued their excellent form in the 2008 European Championships in Amsterdam with a clinical performance over Les Bleus yesterday evening.
Wales began this eagerly awaited match well with a strong run from number thirteen Heledd Stephens, yet Non Evans missed an early chance at the posts to put her side ahead. Evans was unlucky with her second effort ten minutes later as her penalty attempt bounced off the posts, falling the wrong side in the strong cross wind.
However, on the half an hour mark the winger notched the initial points of the game with a try following some good team work, starting with a great run down the left wing by Naomi Thomas. Evans converted her score for a 7-0 Welsh lead, but France Women pulled back a penalty just before the interval as Wales were guilty of an offside infringement.
Wales resumed in the best possible fashion with a superb drive from a line-out resulting in an unconverted try for flanker Jamie Kift. They kept the pressure on their opponents with another well taken line-out that carried captain Mel Berry towards the try line. A drive by the Welsh pack resulted in another line-out that finally forced a penalty from France for diving over. Evans slotted the ball over for a 15-3 advantage.
Evans stretched this lead by another three points shortly afterwards, with Jenny Davies replacing Claire Horgan after an exceptionally quick recovery from a ruptured ACL. France were depleted to fourteen women due to a punching incident, though Wales’s Gemma Hallett also saw yellow soon after.
France gained a consolatory try at the death to take the final scores to 18-10, but Wales’s superb performance had guaranteed a position in the final against their oldest adversaries England, who had progressed to the finale courtesy of a semi-final victory over Ireland.
