BRISTOL - France co-head coach David Ortiz, captain Marine Ménager, Teani Feleu and Pauline Bourdon-Sansus react to their team's Rugby World Cup semi-final defeat by England at Ashton Gate Stadium on Saturday.

David Ortiz, co-head coach

On pushing England so close:

“We knew we could have a big fight against England, we knew we could have a big arm wrestle against them. In the end they were very strong. 

"I want to give credit to England. I want to wish them all the best for the final. In the end when they pushed a little bit harder and when we let go a little bit, that’s what made the difference.” 

On losing a ninth successive RWC semi-final: 

“Yes, it is true, we lost again but, again, I think we did really well today. We want to bounce back straight after this message. There is still a bronze medal to go and get and we are going to focus on that next weekend.”

On his immediate reaction:

“These are tough moments, there’s sadness. We knew chances would be scarce and that the smallest mistake would cost us, and that’s exactly what happened. We played a high-level game. Still, we looked this England team in the eye for a solid 60 minutes. A few errors cost us dearly and made the scoreline heavier than the performance itself, which I thought was of real quality.”

On the turning point after England’s third try:

“No, it wasn’t mental. We’re a team that has the ability to bounce back. We’ve shown in matches before that we can come back when nobody thinks we will. I think what shifted the match around the 60th minute were the little technical errors, the inaccuracies – a missed lineout that sent us back into our own 22 when we’d been applying pressure in theirs, something we’d managed much better in the first half.

“These small inaccuracies, in a game at this level, are really costly. We gave them easy balls to exploit, turnovers, possession that immediately put us back under pressure in our own 22. Against a team like England, those kinds of balls are gold.

“So it was more technical imprecision than anything else. The group still believed – we knew we could get back in it. Proof of that is we scored a try in the last 10 minutes. But unfortunately, the gap was too big and the mistakes too costly to hope to come back fully.”

Gaëlle Mignot, co-head coach

On the half-time talk:

“We told ourselves we were right in the game. We’d never been this close at the break. We knew we’d wasted chances that could come back to haunt us and that we needed to really push hard after that.

“We talked about our red zone, where we got in but didn’t finish. Those errors are costly in the end. We told the girls to be more accurate and to keep playing the game we’d built, because we were finding gaps out wide. But the handling errors meant it was hard to really capitalise. Defensively, we said we had to keep bringing pressure all the time.”

On struggles at the breakdown and rucks:

“Yes, absolutely. At half-time that’s exactly what I told them: we’d had four balls stolen by the same player. We know her quality, we’d worked on that over the summer. In that first half we lacked control there. We knew rucks were going to be key in this match.

“When I talk about imprecision in the scoring zone, that’s exactly what I mean. At half-time we said we needed to sort that out. It was important, especially in terms of the attitude of our ball carriers. That’s what we stressed at half-time and it’s where we managed to improve in the second half. But losing four balls at the breakdown in the red zone really hurts, and it was one of the keys to this match.”

On whether coming so close despite all the imperfections brings regrets:

“Of course. There’s a lot of disappointment tonight. The group was prepared to go the full 80 minutes. Tonight there are regrets, that’s clear. We felt at one point that we could have tipped the game our way. But yes, there’s still a gap between us and this England side. You have to be accurate for the full 80. We weren’t, and we paid for it.

“Looking ahead though, we’re lucky to have a young team that’s just experienced something really important, even historic. Playing England, in England, in a World Cup semi-final in front of 26,000 people, that leaves a mark on a group. It bodes well for the future. But tonight, yes, there’s regret – we came close to something that felt within reach at times.”

Marine Ménager, captain

On the difference between the two teams:

“They played very hard. Every opportunity they had, they scored tries, so it’s very hard to play against them. Congratulations for them, to reach the final.” 

On retiring after next Saturday’s bronze-medal match:

“I love this jersey, I love that team. I want to take every little moment, even today, to take the most out of this jersey, with the team and with the girls.”

On whether they truly believed they could win:

“Absolutely. We put together a huge first half and went in at 5–7. We never thought: ‘They’re stronger today, they’re untouchable.’ That wasn’t the case. They showed again they’re a great side and that every single chance they get, they take.

“From our side, we stuck to what we’d said – be brave, play our game. Yes, our game comes with errors, because it’s built on everyone expressing themselves. It’s a game of initiative. Sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn’t.

“What we take away is that we looked them in the eye. In the one-on-one battles, we were there. We stayed true to ourselves the whole way through, and it swung their way because they’re more pragmatic and more experienced than us. That’s the fair conclusion of this match.”

On Ellie Kildunne as the face of English pragmatism:

“She’s a truly great player. On every ball she’s capable of pulling something off, making the right move at the right time. We all know it, and she showed it again today. Congratulations to her.”

On how to prepare for the bronze final after such a painful defeat:

“We said it to each other in the huddle at the end: one thing at a time. First we digest today’s loss. We’re a team with a lot of character, a very tight-knit group. Today we stick together, we need to let all the emotions out, and tomorrow we switch back into preparation for that third-place game, which is hugely important for us.

“We want to reward the group, and we’ll be facing a great New Zealand side as well. We’ll have to prepare seriously and not dwell on this semi-final defeat. We have to get back up quickly – and this team has the strength to do that. It’s up to us to prove it next weekend.”

Teani Feleu

On her emotions:

“Mostly disappointed because it is not the result we were waiting for, After the first half we were proud of the work we did on the field. Everything was pretty clean. We actually played the rugby we wanted to play against England. The second half, their first try put us down and we never came back from it but overall I'm proud of what the team did on the field.”

On France having a difficult week, with her sister being banned for the match:

“It was quite a tough week. My sister and I... It was our dream to play both of us on the field, one of us was on the field. I just tried to think about what she would have wanted to do and I tried to play for both of us. It wasn't enough today but we wanted to show our team-mates that we would try to win the semi-final for them. England were just better than us today.”

On playing the Black Ferns in the bronze-medal match at a sold-out Allianz Stadium:

“It was a tough game that we played today but we have to leave it behind us and look forward and try to finish on a positive note. We know the Black Ferns are waiting on the win as well so we will work hard for it. We want to get the win.”

Pauline Bourdon-Sansus

On France’s missed opportunities in the first half:

“Yes, the missed opportunities cost us. Against these English girls, we knew that if we didn’t take our chances, it would give them more ammunition. Unfortunately, that’s what happened, and that’s why we were even behind at half-time (after dominating possession).”

On how she sums up France’s tournament as a whole:

“Obviously, there’s a lot of disappointment that we didn’t reach the final. But we should be positive about how we’ve done. It felt like the tournament was a sort of crescendo, and every game we were improving and getting better. We have one more match, and we want to use that disappointment to finish with a win.”

On mentally preparing for a 3rd/4th play-off:

“We will just continue to work and keep the same philosophy. That third-place position is very important for us, and that’s our aim for this entire week. We just need to get over the disappointment and knuckle down.”