
Our review of the season part three: The goals
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Rhyl Journal
37 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
George Ford marks 100th Test cap by leading England to victory against Argentina
Alex Coles and debutant Seb Atkinson were shown yellow cards by referee Angus Gardner to temporary reduce Steve Borthwick's team to 13 men in La Plata, but after a superb regard defensive action, England were much improved after the break. Tom Roebuck grabbed a first try within two minutes of the restart and added another after Freddie Steward crossed over. Caden Murley concluded the scoring with five minutes left on a night where co-captain Ford showed his class on his 100th appearance for England. Off to a winning start in the Americas 👊#ARGvENG — England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) July 5, 2025 All eyes were on Ford initially, but it was scrum-half Ben Spencer who did most of the kicking early on with a number of box kicks as Argentina dominated territory. Infringements were a regular occurrence from England and Coles was first to be sent to the sin-bin for a head-on-head contact with Facundo Isa. It was followed by rock-solid English defence led by co-captain Jamie George and after Santiago Carreras missed a simple penalty for Argentina, Ford landed a drop goal to conjure memories of his virtuoso display in the 2023 World Cup group stage. Atkinson followed Coles in being shown a yellow following a succession of team offsides, which reduced England to 13 men. 100 caps and counting for @George_Fordy 💯🌹🙌#ARGvENG — England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) July 5, 2025 However, George again starred to keep Argentina at bay and while Ford missed another drop goal effort, it remained 3-0 at half-time. England started the second period with better intent and needed only 65 seconds to score the first try of the match. A fine carry by Ben Curry was followed by quick ball from Ford and Steward, who found Sale wing Roebuck and he crashed over on the right. Ford failed to add the extras, but quickly made amends with a superb pass to release his former Leicester team-mate Steward for England's second try. This time Ford kicked the conversion and the purple patch continued as Roebuck grabbed another in the 49th minute. 49' | DOUBLE TROUBLE 😎 Tom Roebuck has a brace in La Plata 🔥#ARGvENG — England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) July 5, 2025 After being stopped just short of the try-line after a free-flowing move, Roebuck made no mistake second time around to help England move 22-0 ahead. Pablo Matera helped Argentina to produce an instant response and when Pedro Rubiolo finished off a superb team attack minutes later, the momentum had suddenly shifted. Borthwick turned to his bench as Guy Pepper was introduced for his Test debut, but fittingly it was Ford who took charge on his 100th international outing with two inch-perfect penalties – the second from near the halfway line. Harlequins wing Murley entered the fray with eight minutes later and wrapped up the scoring with an excellent finish before Ford kicked his third conversion to help England begin their summer tour in style.

Rhyl Journal
37 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Below-par England begin European title defence with defeat to France
Lauren James returned to Sarina Wiegman's starting XI and England thought they had struck first against the 2022 semi-finalists but had an early Alessia Russo effort chalked off after a VAR check. Instead Marie-Antoinette Katoto fired in a 36th-minute opener before Chelsea's Sandy Baltimore doubled France's lead three minutes later. Defeat in our #WEURO2025 opener. Our focus quickly turns to Wednesday and matchday two. — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 5, 2025 Late substitutions sparked the Lionesses into life in the closing stages and Walsh gave them hope, halving the deficit in the 87th minute, but they could not salvage a point. With England men's boss Thomas Tuchel watching on from the stands, James got herself involved inside the first minute, latching on to the ball inside France's penalty area before firing a left-footed effort aimed at the top corner off-target. Three minutes later the Chelsea forward was skipping around the edge of the area, sending in a cross that just evaded several England heads. Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton got her first taste of major-tournament action when she came out to collect Selma Bacha's free-kick, earning an appreciative round of applause from the England delegation stationed behind her. Russo thought she had scored after pouncing on the rebound from Lauren Hemp's saved effort, but a VAR check determined Beth Mead had been marginally offside in the build-up to Hemp's initial attempt and the goal was ruled out. Momentum shifted in France's favour, their efforts inching ever closer as Hampton was forced into a good save, sticking out a leg to deny Elisa De Almeida. And it was the Paris St Germain defender whose initial midfield interception was the catalyst for the opener, finding Delphine Cascarino with a well-weighted pass. San Diego Wave forward Cascarino then sent the ball across the face of goal, where Katoto obligingly tapped in. Baltimore doubled their advantage three minutes later, Leah Williamson and her Chelsea team-mate Lucy Bronze unable to contain the in-form Blues star before she rifled into the top right corner. VAR ruled – much to Wiegman's visible chagrin – that Russo had not been fouled in the build-up. The second half got off to a lively start for France, with Hampton denying Grace Geyoro but fumbling her save and having to scramble back just in time to prevent more damage. ⚡️A constant threat ⚡️ 🇫🇷 Delphine Cascarino = #WEUROPOTM in Zurich! #WEURO2025 || @VisaUK — UEFA Women's EURO 2025 (@WEURO2025) July 5, 2025 James' evening ended after 60 minutes as part of a triple-change for Wiegman. The Lionesses looked to be running out of time and chances by the 77th minute when Grace Clinton made her major tournament debut, followed by Michelle Agyemang's minutes later. But England were suddenly sparked to life, substitute Ella Toone nearly halving the deficit with a deflected effort. Walsh finally clawed one back after France could not fully clear an England corner, the Chelsea midfielder taking advantage, guiding a shot past Pauline Peyraud-Magnin from the edge of the area to give the Lionesses a fighting chance. But, while they finally looked a threat, five minutes of added time were not enough to salvage a draw.

Rhyl Journal
37 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
We caused our own problems, says England boss Sarina Wiegman after France defeat
The Lionesses were forced to regroup after Alessia Russo had an early goal chalked off following a VAR review for offside in the build-up and needed to dig deep after Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore scored within four first-half minutes. But England struggled to get a shot on target, ending the contest with just two, and, while late substitutions sparked the Lionesses into life in the closing stages, Keira Walsh's 87th-minute goal proved mere consolation. Sarina Wiegman's #WEURO2025 opening Group D game assessment ⬇️ — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 5, 2025 'Of course, I'm very disappointed,' said Wiegman. 'I think we started well. After that, of course we know France are very good, but we created chances (for France) by playing short passes all the time. We were a bit sloppy too.' It was a first major tournament group-stage defeat for the Dutch head coach, who won the Euros with the Netherlands in 2017 before leading England to a maiden major trophy three summers ago. She added: 'When we built, we chose to do short passes and they were aiming for that. 'They were pretty good in midfield, so I think we had to go around at moments. On the right side, we had overloads where we could find that, but then you have to skip players and not play the short passes, but when you receive them you have to be tighter on the ball and be quicker. 'We played out of that press that developed too, so I think we caused a bit of our own problems, knowing that when you don't do these things right against France, it's a very good team so they can harm you.' How things stand after Matchday 1 📈#WEURO2025 — UEFA Women's EURO 2025 (@WEURO2025) July 5, 2025 The Lionesses' task does not get any easier, with the Netherlands on Wednesday now looking even more like a must-win game to avoid the genuine possibility of an early exit. Lauren James, who returned from a three-month hamstring injury absence in a 30-minute cameo in their Jamaica send-off friendly on Sunday, was deemed fit to start and played an hour. The Chelsea forward looked a threat on the ball, missing a good chance in the first minute before her attempt to tee up a team-mate with a cross evaded several English heads. Asked if it was an error to start the 23-year-old, Wiegman said: 'No. I don't see it as a mistake. It's a choice and I think if she'd scored in the first minute and if the cross she made, we just couldn't get a head on, I think it would have been a different conversation.' Captain Leah Williamson told ITV she felt the Lionesses 'defended cheaply in one-on-ones' and also lost the ball 'cheaply, (so) you're defending in an emergency'. Fellow defender Jess Carter said: 'I think we played like we were a little bit scared today, maybe we weren't aggressive enough, we maybe were worrying about their threats in behind and what they can do rather than doing what we can do.' But Carter shrugged off the suggestion England now have a big uphill battle, adding: 'I don't really think it's any different, before the tournament even started we knew we had to win games and we set out to win every single game and that doesn't change now.'