France recovered well from their bruising loss to England a week ago to coast into the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with a 44-0 win over Fiji.
The result meant crowd favourite Fiji exited the tournament.
France scored seven tries, showing they can play a lively style after last weekend's grim,physical clash with England which England won 13-7. That left France needing to win on Saturday to be sure of progressing to the knockout round and they did so emphatically with a bonus point.
"It was a great game, we are very happy. Now we have to work hard for the quarter-finals," France forward Coco Lindelauf said. "It was very important for us to show what we can produce."
The match was never in doubt as France steadily increased their lead, taking a 20-0 lead at halftime and keeping that pace in the second half to secure a spot in the top four.
France will likely take the fourth seed unless the USA can beat Canada tomorrow, with the Black Ferns set to finish top while England and Canada can lock up the second and third seeds with wins tomorrow afternoon.
That would mean, if results go according to seedings in the quarter-finals, the Black Ferns and France would meet in a huge semifinal showdown.
French players celebrate with Chloe Jacquet after her try against Fiji. Photo / Photosport
France had only a small surplus of possession, 51 per cent to Fiji's 49 per cent, but used the ball with precision. Fiji, in contrast, paid heavily for missed tackles and turnovers.
"Fiji really play rugby, they have a feeling for rugby and it was a great game," Lindelauf said. "From now on its knockout, who wins goes to the semifinals so we have to win."
The only remaining interest for the quarter-finals comes from Pool B, where if Japan manage to claim a bonus-point win over Italy tomorrow then they could sneak into the knockout stages, but the likely Italian victory would have them on a course for a quarter-final showdown against France next weekend.
