16 1GS K1 Saturday April 30 2022 | the timesSport Women’s Six Nations
United v Walsall; Crawley Town v Leyton
Orient; Forest Green Rovers v Harrogate
Town; Northampton Town v Exeter City;
Rochdale v Bristol Rovers; Scunthorpe
United v Hartlepool United; Sutton United v
Bradford City; Swindon Town v Barrow;
Tranmere Rovers v Oldham Athletic.
National League
Aldershot Town v Notts County; Barnet v
Grimsby Town; Bromley v Chesterfield;
Dover Athletic v Altrincham; FC Halifax Town
v Yeovil Town; King’s Lynn Town v Eastleigh;
Torquay United v Maidenhead United;
Wealdstone v Dagenham & Redbridge;
Weymouth v Solihull Moors; Wrexham v
Southend United; Stockport County v
Boreham Wood (5.20).
National League North
AFC Fylde v Kettering Town; AFC Telford
United v Boston United; Alfreton Town v
Chester; Brackley Town v Blyth Spartans;
Bradford (Park Avenue) v Darlington; Curzon
Ashton v Leamington; Farsley Celtic v York
City; Gateshead v Southport; Gloucester City
v Chorley; Kidderminster Harriers v Guiseley;
Spennymoor Town v Hereford.
National League South
Bath City v Tonbridge Angels; Braintree
Town v Hemel Hempstead Town; Concord
Rangers v Oxford City; Eastbourne Borough
v Billericay Town; Ebbsfleet United v
Chippenham Town; Havant & Waterlooville v
Hampton & Richmond; Hungerford Town v
Welling United; Maidstone United v
Chelmsford City; Slough Town v Dartford; St
Albans City v Dorking Wanderers.
Scottish League One
Airdrieonians v Peterhead; Alloa Athletic v
Montrose; Dumbarton v Clyde; East Fife v
Cove Rangers; Queen’s Park v Falkirk.
Scottish League Two
Annan Athletic v Kelty Hearts; Cowdenbeathv Albion Rovers; Forfar Athletic v
Stenhousemuir; Stirling Albion v Edinburgh
City; Stranraer v Elgin City.Cricket
LV= Insurance County Championship
All third day of four; 11am start
Division One: Chelmsford Essex v
Northamptonshire. Bristol Gloucestershire v
Surrey. Ageas Bowl Hampshire v Lancashire.
Taunton Somerset v Warwickshire.
Headingley Yorkshire v Kent. Division Two:
Derby Derbyshire v Glamorgan. Lord’s
Middlesex v Leicestershire. Trent Bridge
Nottinghamshire v Worcestershire. Hove
Sussex v Durham.Rugby league
Betfred Super League
Hull FC v Toulouse.Rugby union
Gallagher Premiership
Gloucester v Bath (3.0); Leicester v Bristol
(3.0); Worcester v Saracens (3.0).
United Rugby Championship
Edinburgh v Ulster (7.35); Lions v Benetton
(1.0); Ospreys v Dragons (5.15); Sharks v
Connacht (3.05); Stormers v Leinster (5.15);
Zebre v Dragons (13.05).
TikTok Women’s Six Nations
France v England (2.15); Ireland v Scotland
(8.0); Wales v Italy (12.0).Snooker
Sheffield Betfred World Championship
Semi-finals R O’Sullivan (Eng) v J Higgins
(Scot); J Trump (Eng) v M Williams (Wales)Football
Sky Bet Championship
P WD L F A GD Pts
Fulham (P).........44 26 9 9 99 39 60 87
Bournemouth...43 22 13 8 69 39 30 79
Nott’m Forest....43 22 10 11 67 37 30 76
Huddersfield.....44 21 13 10 60 46 14 76
Luton...................44 20 12 12 62 48 14 72
Sheff Utd.............45 20 12 13 59 45 14 72
Middlesbro........44 19 10 15 55 45 10 67
Blackburn...........44 18 12 14 57 46 11 66
Millwall................44 17 15 12 50 44 6 66
Coventry.............44 17 12 15 58 56 2 63
QPR.......................45 18 9 18 59 59 0 63
Stoke....................44 17 10 17 55 48 7 61
West Brom.........44 16 13 15 47 45 2 61
Swansea.............44 16 13 15 57 62-5 61
Blackpool...........44 16 12 16 54 51 3 60
Preston................44 14 16 14 45 54-9 58
Bristol City.........44 14 10 20 57 75 -18 52
Hull.......................44 148 22 40 48-8 50
Cardiff.................44 14 7 23 48 67 -19 49
Birmingham......44 11 13 20 48 72 -24 46
Reading*.............44 138 23 54 85 -31 41
Peterboro (R).... 44 8 10 26 38 84 -46 34
Derby** (R).........44 13 13 18 43 52-9 31
Barnsley (R)....... 44 6 12 26 32 66 -34 30
*Deducted six points; **deducted 21 points
League One
P WD L F A GD Pts
Wigan...................45 26 11 8 79 44 35 89
Rotherham.........45 26 9 10 68 33 35 87
MK Dons.............45 25 11 9 73 44 29 86
Sheff Wed...........45 23 13 9 74 49 25 82
Sunderland........45 23 12 10 78 53 25 81
Plymouth............45 23 11 11 68 43 25 80
Wycombe...........45 22 14 9 73 50 23 80
Oxford Utd.........45 22 9 14 81 58 23 75
Portsmouth.......45 20 13 12 67 47 20 73
Bolton..................45 20 10 15 70 55 15 70
Ipswich................45 17 16 12 63 4617 67
Charlton..............45 17 8 20 55 55 0 59Ac’ton Stanley..45 16 10 19 57 77 -20 58
Cambridge.........45 15 12 18 54 72 -18 57
Cheltenham.......45 13 16 16 64 78 -14 55
Burton..................45 14 11 20 50 65 -15 53
Shrewsbury.......45 12 14 19 47 48 -1 50
Lincoln City........45 13 10 22 53 62-9 49
Morecambe.......45 10 12 23 57 87 -30 42
Fleetwood Town 45 8 16 21 60 78 -18 40
Gillingham 45 8 16 21 35 67 -32 40
AFC Wimbledon 45 6192046 71-2537
Doncaster 45 10 7 28 36 81 -45 37
Crewe (R)............ 45 7 8 30 36 81 -45 29
League Two
P WD L F A GD Pts
Forest Green (P) 44 23 14 7 72 39 33 83
Exeter (P)...........44 23 147 64 39 25 83
Northampton....44 22 10 12 56 36 20 76
Port Vale.............44 21 12 11 65 44 21 75
Mansfield...........44 229 13 63 48 15 75
Bristol R..............44 21 11 12 60 46 14 74
Sutton United...44 21 10 13 66 4917 73
Swindon..............44 20 11 13 72 53 19 71
Salford City........44 19 12 13 56 40 16 69
Tranmere...........44 19 12 13 50 40 10 69
Newport County 44 18 12 14 65 55 10 66
Crawley 44 179 18 53 61-8 60
Leyton Orient...44 13 16 15 60 46 14 55
Walsall.................44 14 11 19 45 55 -10 53
Hartlepool..........44 14 11 19 43 61 -18 53
Bradford.............44 12 16 16 47 54-7 52
Colchester..........44 13 12 19 44 58 -14 51
Rochdale............44 11 17 16 46 55-9 50
Harrogate Town 44 13 11 20 61 72 -11 50
Carlisle 44 13 11 20 37 59 -22 50
Barrow................44 10 14 20 42 52 -10 44
Stevenage..........44 10 14 20 40 64 -24 44
Oldham (R)........ 44 9 10 25 43 70 -27 37
Scunthorpe (R). 44 4 13 27 28 82 -54 25Rugby union
Gallagher Premiership
Northampton Saints 32 Harlequins 31; Sale 35
Newcastle 27.
Report and table, page 15RESULTS FIXTURES
Football
(3.0 unless stated)
Premier League
Newcastle United v Liverpool (12.30); Aston
Villa v Norwich City; Southampton v Crystal
Palace; Watford v Burnley; Wolverhampton
Wanderers v Brighton & Hove Albion; Leeds
United v Manchester City (5.30).
Cinch Scottish Premiership
Aberdeen v Dundee; Dundee United v
Motherwell; Heart of Midlothian v Ross
County; Livingston v Hibernian; St Johnstone
v St Mirren.
Sky Bet Championship
Barnsley v Preston North End (12.30);
Blackburn Rovers v AFC Bournemouth;
Blackpool v Derby County; Bristol City v Hull
City; Cardiff City v Birmingham City;
Coventry City v Huddersfield Town;
Middlesbrough v Stoke City; Millwall v
Peterborough United; Nottingham Forest v
Swansea City; Reading v West Bromwich
Albion.
FA Women’s Super League
Manchester City v Brighton (11.30).
League One
AFC Wimbledon v Accrington Stanley (12.30);
Bolton Wanderers v Fleetwood Town (12.30);
Burton Albion v Wycombe Wanderers
(12.30); Cambridge United v Cheltenham
Town (12.30); Gillingham v Rotherham
United (12.30); Ipswich Town v Charlton
Athletic (12.30); Lincoln City v Crewe
Alexandra (12.30); Morecambe v Sunderland
(12.30); Oxford United v Doncaster Rovers
(12.30); Plymouth Argyle v Milton Keynes
Dons (12.30); Sheffield Wednesday v
Portsmouth (12.30); Shrewsbury Town v
Wigan Athletic (12.30).
League Two
Carlisle United v Stevenage; ColchesterWomen’s Six Nations
PW D L FA B Pts
England 44 0 0 258 10 4 20
France 4 4 00140 24 4 20
Wales 42 02 61129 2 10Ireland (^41035314415)
Italy (^41033415504)
Scotland (^40044512922)
Snooker
Sheffield World Championship
Semi-finals (latest scores): J Trump (Eng)
leads M Williams (Wales) 13-11; R O’Sullivan
(Eng) leads J Higgins (Scot) 10-6
Tennis
WTA Tour: Madrid Open
First round (selected result): E Raducanu
(GB) bt T Martincova (Cz) 7-6 (7-3), 6-0.
ATP Tour: Munich Open
Quarter-finals M Kecmanovic (Serbia) bt
N Basilashvili (Geo) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2; B van de
Zandschulp (Neth) bt C Ruud (Nor) 7-5, 6-1;
O Otte (Ger) bt A Tabilo (Chile) 6-1, 7-6 (7-1);
H Rune (Den) bt E Ruusuvuori (Fin) 6-0, 6-2.
Rugby league
Betfred Super League Catalans Dragons 44
Castleford 12; Leeds 12 Hull KR 0; St Helens 14
Salford 10; Warrington 22 Wigan 40.
PW D L F A Pts
St Helens 119 0 2 272 106 18
Wigan 119 0 2 288 208 18
Cat Dragons 118 0 3 230 156 16
Huddersfield 116 1 4 240 188 13
Hull 106 0 4 195 172 12
Hull KR 116 0 5 202 204 12
Warrington 11 50 6 250 258 10
Castleford 11 50 6 239 258 10
Leeds 11 3 1 7 161217 7
Salford 11 30 8 210 290 6
Wakefield 11 30 8 178 280 6
Toulouse 10 10 9 154 282 2
Sarah Beckett
England and Harlequins forward,
who is on the bench today
1 Getting a fast start to keep the
crowd quiet
The French have the loudest fans in
women’s rugby. We cannot afford to
feed them any energy. Plus, they
have scored most of their tries in
the first half, so a strong start will
help us avoid that.
2 Lots of physicality
The French pack is particularly
strong — especially with Madoussou
Fall and Audrey Forlani in the
second row. We are going to have to
match their physicality.
3 Composure and accuracy
We will not have many chances to
convert opportunities in this game,
so we need to be composed and
accurate under pressure. Whether
that be in a maul, scrum, or making
sure the final pass is perfect,
accuracy will be the key.
4 Nullify their threat
It is no secret that the key to
France’s game is their half backs.
This week’s pairing of Laure Sansus
at scrum half and Caroline Drouin at
fly half will be a challenge for us. We
will need to force them to have as
quiet a game as possible.
5 Kick battles
France have some excellent kickers
but England have the advantage of
being able to kick from anywhere in
our world-class back line.
How England can win
against it. A lot of coaches try to
make a girl kick like a boy, but he’s
worked with the way girls kick. The
way our body works for kicking is
completely different. Our hip
alignment is different, boys can come
more straight at the ball, and Josh has
changed the way I run up to the ball.
It’s made me a lot more consistent
kicking off the tee.”
For all their comfortable victories
in their first four matches, their clear
superiority has made it difficult for
England to measure their collective
improvements in recent weeks.
This afternoon they will be given a
clearer picture of where they stand
on the way to the World Cup later
this year.
considerable progress with her goal-
kicking, duties she shares for England
with Scarratt and Helena Rowland.
Her kicking from the tee has
benefited, she feels, from working
with Josh Sharp, the Ampthill and
former Saracens fly half. Their
working partnership came about by
chance as Sharp is not a recognised
coach but his girlfriend is Lotte
Clapp, Harrison’s team-mate at
Saracens. He quickly understood that
female players do not kick the ball in
the same way as their male
counterparts.
“Josh is not actually a kicking
coach, but he’s very good at kicking,”
Harrison said. “He’s worked with the
technique I use instead of working
I
n a competition where two teams
are head and shoulders above
the rest, there has been a sense
of anticipation about England’s
clash with France ever since the
TikTok Women’s Six Nations began
five weeks ago. The title will be
decided when the sides meet in
Bayonne this afternoon, but there is
much more riding on the outcome
than the trophy that Emily Scarratt,
captaining England in the absence of
the injured Sarah Hunter, hopes to
lift, or the world rankings points that
could lift France above New Zealand
into second place behind England if
they avoid defeat at the Stade Jean
Dauger.
The next time these great rivals
meet will be in the World Cup in six
months’ time in New Zealand, where
they will be in the same pool, a
fixture that will shape the teams’
progress through the rest of the
tournament.
“We knew this was going to be the
big one at the end, the decider,” Zoe
Harrison, the England fly half, said.
“This is our last game before going
into the World Cup. The focus is
firmly on winning the Six Nations,
but the World Cup is coming up. You
never know quite what’s going to
come from France, so we’ll see what
happens.”
The shift of the women’s Six
Nations to a window away from the
men’s competition has found favour
England’s longstanding
fly half, retired 17
months ago, Harrison
has stepped up to claim
the No 10 shirt, gradually
developing her all-round
game and establishing herself
as a leader in the squad.
“She’s driving the team around the
park very well,” Middleton said. “Her
distribution was a bit of an Achilles’
heel, she was always a good passer,
but not consistent enough. Now she’s
really consistent, that’s an area we’ve
told her to focus on and that’s been an
area we’ve really told her to focus on.
It’s really starting to pay dividends
and that’s massive for us.”
Harrison has also made
Why ‘world’s
best’ Harrison
holds the key
with the players, with record crowds
attending England’s recent home
matches against Wales in Gloucester
and Ireland at Leicester. There will be
a bumper crowd of 11,000 in Bayonne
today, with the French federation
determined to put on an exhibition
for a showpiece fixture in the game’s
southwest heartlands.
“Whenever I’ve played away
against France, it’s always been a
great atmosphere,” Harrison said.
“There’s always been a band playing,
always been a good crowd. It’s going
to be a great occasion.”
The increasing professionalisation
of women’s rugby in recent years, in
which England and France have been
to the fore, has brought huge progress
in the more technical areas, such as
the kicking game. England have led
the way in this regard in recent
seasons, but France, with Caroline
Drouin starting at fly half, are
expected to be a match for
their opponents this
afternoon.
“France do have a
kicking game, it will
be quite a big part of
the battle,” Harrison
said. “Other teams
are picking up [their
kicking games], we’ve
seen quite a bit of that
in this Six Nations and
other teams are trying to
use it against us.”
Harrison, 24, who will win her 38th
cap this afternoon, has been the
primary reason why England have led
the way with the boot. “She’s got the
best kicking game in the world, there’s
no doubt about that,” Simon
Middleton, the head coach, said. “You
talk about craft and how people take
real pride, you see that in Zoe, she
maxes out on her kicking.”
Since Katy Daley-McLean,
England fly half tells
John Westerby that
winning kicking game
against France will be
crucial in title decider
Harrison has the best kicking game in the world, both in play and
from the tee, according to England head coach Simon Middleton
France v
England
Women’s Six Nations,
Bayonne
Today, 2.15pm
TV: BBC2
BOB BRADFORD /CAMERASPORT/GETTY IMAGES