Attritional is the word to describe the first half in Exeter.

France were camped in Italy's half for much of the opening 40 minutes and dominated the scrum, but were frustrated time and time again by their opponent's determined scramble defence.

They had to wait until the 27th minute to make the breakthrough, Joanna Grisez getting on the overlap and bursting down the left flank to pop the ball over the tryline. Morgane Bourgeois' conversion was successful, extending her side's lead to 7-0.

France thought they had a second try on the stroke of half-time, when Bourgeois pounced on a loose ball after it had been knocked back by Kelly Arbey.

However, the video referee couldn't determine whether she or Italy's Alyssa D'Inca had grounded the ball first, instead awarding Italy a goal-line drop-out.

Bourgeois then converted a penalty in front of the posts to send France into the break with a 10-0 advantage.

Alastair Telfer
BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

France hooker Agathe Gerin says she is preparing for the Women's Rugby World Cup with "a hunger only mother wolves can measure" after the death of one child and premature birth of another in the build-up to the tournament.

The 30-year-old and her wife Adele were expecting twins this November.

But just days after Gerin made the World Cup squad on 2 August, they learned they had lost baby Aime.

On Tuesday, Gerin's wife gave birth to the twins - Aime and Leonard - after 28 weeks of pregnancy.

"A few days after learning of my selection for the World Cup, we discovered that one of the twins, our Aime, had joined the clouds," Gerin posted on social media, external.

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The Women's Rugby World Cup spans from 22nd August to the final on 27th September at a record-breaking sold-out Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

The BBC have rights to stream all of the 32 matches across Network, Red Button, iPlayer, BBC Sport website & app, as well as radio rights across 5 Live and nations radio.

Image source, BBC Sport

The 10th edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup takes place in England from 22 August to 27 September, with coverage of every match live on the BBC.

Host nation England have won their last 27 matches and are the favourites to lift the trophy at Twickenham.

Defending champions New Zealand, as well Canada, France and Australia, will all fancy their chances of denying England a home victory.

Scotland, Wales and Ireland will all seek to impress, while global superstar Ilona Maher of the United States will look to leave her mark on the tournament.

The competition has been expanded from the 12 teams that took part in 2022, with 16 sides participating, including debutants Brazil.

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Ask Me Anything

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Eight stadiums will host games at the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup in England, with the final taking place at the 82,000-seater Twickenham Stadium.

The tournament started with hosts England facing the United States at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.

Brighton's Amex Stadium, the York Community Stadium, and Bristol's Ashton Gate are hosting games too.

Sandy Park in Exeter, Salford Community Stadium and Franklin's Gardens in Northampton complete the line-up.

The tournament will run from 22 August to 27 September 2025.

The final at Twickenham has sold out - making it likely to be the biggest ever crowd for a women's rugby union match.

The current record was also set at Twickenham, when 58,498 watched England beat France in the 2023 Six Nations.

Every match of the tournament will be available live on the BBC.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.