A week on from Tunisia and Senegal making their test debuts, Ivory Coast have become the latest nation to field a women’s team in international 15s rugby.
But the Ivorians are still waiting to open their account after losing 45-5 to Senegal in midweek and then 61-0 to Tunisia on Sunday.
Having beaten Senegal 14-3 in the opening game, Tunisia were declared the winner of the Rugby Africa-organised triangular tournament.
With a 100 per cent record from their first two matches, Tunisia now find themselves above Uganda and up to 31st in the World Rugby Women’s Rankings, closely followed by Senegal who jump four places to 33rd.
Meanwhile, Ivory Coast enter the rankings in 42nd place.
So good to be back with the @rugby_europe Trophy yesterday
— Claire Cruikshank (@ccruikshank1) October 17, 2021
2 years of hard work and commitment led to the 24-10 victory for @svenskrugby against a tough @finlandrugby team.
Proud coaches 😊
Next up Czech on 30/10 at home in Norrköping 💙💛#Womensrugby #swedishrugby https://t.co/xKADBVIt7r pic.twitter.com/KaUjnhHuD0
Five-star showing from Tunisian winger
Ivory Coast made their test debut on Wednesday and gave a good account of themselves.
But after a tight first half ended with the match finely balanced at 13-5, Senegal pressed home their physical dominance to score 32 unanswered points.
Second-row Dieynaba Camara produced a player of the match performance capped by two late tries.
Sunday’s game was all about the pace of Ranim Madouri. The winger was unstoppable and scored five of her side’s 10 tries in just 48 minutes.
Rihab Hamouda crossed twice on the other flank while the rest of Tunisia’s tries came through the forwards.
One other match counted towards the rankings but the outcome of the opening fixture in the Rugby Europe Women’s Trophy led to no change in the ratings or position of Sweden and hosts Finland.
Finland twice went ahead against their higher-ranked opponents and actually led 10-7 at the break but Sweden dominated the second half to win 24-10.
Due to the 22.73-point differential between Sweden and Finland, the teams stay in 19th and 50th place, respectively.
The next match in the Rugby Europe Women’s Trophy sees Sweden take on Czechia on Saturday, 30 October.
In the World Rugby Men’s Rankings, Serbia drop one place to 88th as a result of their 14-11 defeat to hosts Bulgaria in Rugby Europe’s Conference 2 South. Bosnia and Herzegovina replace them in 87th while Bulgaria remain in 70th but with an improved rating of 38.21 points.