Insane running lines, rib crunching tackles, changes of direction- Bravo, Gabrielle Vernier

France’s journey so far this Six Nations has been extremely comfortable. They’re three from three, including two 50-point wins, and they frankly don’t look like they’ve left second gear yet. As they look to put a few points past a potentially vulnerable but fired-up Wales this coming weekend, it’s difficult to pinpoint a weak spot in the French game.

It felt valid to question whether they would be held to the same standard at the set-piece without Safi N’Diaye and Madoussou Fall, but they’ve been at worst solid, and at best world-beating up front in the first two rounds. Out wide the likes of Pauline Bourdon and Marine Menager have been at their best – providing entertainment as well as results. But the most surprising thing about this French team is the fact Gabrielle Vernier still somehow manages to get better each week, just when you think it’s impossible.

If you were to select a women’s World XV, Vernier would probably be the first name on the team sheet right now. It’s probably fair to say she’s the best centre in the women’s game along with a fully-fit Emily Scarratt, and is only behind Samu Kerevi and Jonathan Danty in terms of 12s in the men’s game. Very rarely do you see a player who’s undefendable, yet the 25-year-old France centre, mainly known for her big hits, is increasingly becoming one of those players.

So why is Gabrielle Vernier arguably the best centre in the world? At only 165cm and 64kg, how does she constantly bounce forwards, slip through gaps and crunch ribs? Let’s have a look at some of her highlights so far this Six Nations. We’ll begin with her second-half try against Scotland on Sunday.

Vernier (at the bottom of the above screenshot) begins by running an outward line (to the left) to hold the attention of Lyndsay O’Donnell, who is folding around the ruck, and Caity Mattinson outside her.

O’Donnell very slightly over-folds, noticing Vernier’s outward line. At this stage, she is still opposite the centre; in theory, she’s in a good position. Vernier, however, catches O’Donnell ball-watching for half a second and changes her line of running to be inward.

O’Donnell tries to jam in, but collides with her own prop, Christine Belisle, and only manages to get an arm-tackle on Vernier, who steps inside and scores. Not only is it a fantastic line by the centre, but she tricks the opposition into opening the gap for her. This also means she never has to stop running, and her momentum is supercharged. The timing of her run to take the pass from Bourdon is simply world class.

Of course, this isn’t the only try she’s scored like this – let’s look at another one that’s similar, but different, from Round One against Italy.

On first phase, France play a nice move. Vernier starts wide and runs an inward line to attract the attention of Beatrice Rigoni, and Arbez instead passes to Menager on the switch. Italy have done a great job of marking Vernier here, so France call their bluff.

Menager makes a fantastic run and lands on the Italian 5m line. Vernier practically stands still – but such was the power of Menager’s run, Rigoni is still retreating onside with her back to the French attack.

With this in mind, the obvious area to attack is the space just inside Rigoni. But the knock-on effect of Menager’s carry is such: there are two Italians on the floor, and the ruck is long so Italy have to work extra hard to step around it and cover the space. Veronica Madia (far left) has to organise those inside her and cover the space. Much like the previous example, Vernier uses Madia’s diverted eyes to her advantage…

Bizarrely, Vernier slightly mistimes her run, so instead of slowing down, she just shortens her steps for one or two metres and arcs even further infield. This buys an extra half-second meaning Bourdon doesn’t have to force a forward pass. Also note how Sara Barattin in the bodyguard position also has her eyes on Bourdon.

Vernier receives the ball only just on the outside of Barattin – who makes a pretty good contact, but it’s too little, too late, as the Blagnac Bulldozer bashes through to score.

So what’s the learning from this? Tighten up and force her to run outside or pass to someone else? If you mistake this centre for a “cheval un-tour”, or “one-trick pony”, you may end up getting stung. Let’s rewatch her assist for Emilie Boulard from the Scotland game.

After a cosmic carry by Agathe Sochat, Vernier runs an out-to-in line, aiming to dissect the space between Evie Gallagher and Emma Orr. Because of Vernier’s impeccable ability to pick a line, Scotland’s greatest hope here is for the two defenders in pincer in and hope Vernier doesn’t throw a pinpoint blind pass outside her.

As soon as Bourdon throws the pass, Vernier changes her angle at lightning speed. Suddenly, the picture changes: she’s burning Gallagher for pace, and Orr’s bodyweight is moving inwards, opening an opportunity for Vernier to step on her outside and catch her off-balance.

Vernier leaves both Gallagher and Orr for dead, so both Coreen Grant and Chloe Rollie come across to cover her. Vernier keeps the ball tucked in her right arm the whole time, using her left to fend Orr.

She wants to paint the picture to Rollie and Grant that she wants to finish herself, so she keeps the ball in one hand. If she transfers to two hands, she has less time to throw the pass. Instead, she flicks the ball out of her right hand for France to work the overlap and Boulard to score out wide. Not only can Vernier pick an angle like nobody else, but her ability to change direction is next level.

What’s incredible about this exercise is we’ve only picked out a handful of her many outstanding touches in attack. You can watch her first-half try against Ireland, her 61st minute break against Italy, her beautiful kick-assist against Scotland – the options are endless. What’s even more bizarre is we’ve only covered half of her game; what she’s known for is her crunching tackles. Watching her performances against England and the Black Ferns in last year’s World Cup are enough to send anyone to A&E for a precautionary rib checkup.

While we’re learning some new French rugby terminology, you might want to learn this one before France play Wales at the weekend: “fusée de poche” is the French translation for “pocket rocket”. The fact we live in a world where the best 12 globally is ten stone wet through and thrives in crash-ball situations is ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as the fact we’ll probably be witnessing Gabrielle Vernier hitting there short lines for the best part of another decade and still no-one will have figured out how to defend it.

Whether it’s Kerin Lake, Hannah Bluck or Hannah Jones starting in the 12 channel against France this weekend, you can guarantee a few things: they won’t want to take their eyes off their opposite woman for a second. They’ll have to be at their absolute best to not look silly defensively. And most importantly of all, you should probably start praying now that their ribs last the full 80 minutes.