France women's national rugby union team

The France women's national rugby union team represents France in women's international rugby union. They played the first-ever women's rugby union test match against the Netherlands on 13 June 1982. They compete annually in the Women's Six Nations Championship and have placed third in seven of nine Rugby World Cup's.

France
UnionFrench Rugby Federation
Head coachGaëlle Mignot & David Ortiz
CaptainGaëlle Hermet
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current4 (as of 15 July 2024)
Highest2 (2005–2006, 2015–2016)
Lowest6 (2008–2009)
First international
 Netherlands 0–4 France 
(Utrecht, Netherlands; 13 June 1982)
Biggest win
 France 99–0 Japan 
(Edinburgh, Scotland; 17 April 1994)
Biggest defeat
 France 0–109 New Zealand 
(Edmonton, Canada; 14 September 1996)
World Cup
Appearances9 (First in 1991)
Best result3rd place, 1991, 1994, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2017 and 2021

History

edit

Source: "Des Filles en Ovalie", Éditions Atlantica (2005), Written by Jacques Corte / Yaneth Pinilla B. Foreword by Serge Betsen.

There are records of women's rugby being played in France as early as the mid-1890s, and in the 1920s a form of the game called "barette" was very popular, with national championships. However, after the 1930s the game had all but disappeared and was not revived until 1965 when groups of students in Lyon and Toulouse decided to take part in the great charitable campaign against world hunger. Most of them had brothers and friends who played rugby, so they decided to organise a charity game at Bourg-en-Bresse.

So successful was this that a regular series of games began, with clubs being formed as students graduated, initially mainly in the south. In 1969 a national association – the ARF [Women's Rugby Association] – was formed. Despite initial opposition to the game from both the government and the FFR (who briefly banned any FFR officials from officiating at women's games) by 1976 12 clubs were taking part in national competitions.

In 1982, by which time the number of clubs had more than doubled, the ARF signed a memorandum of understanding was agreed with the FFR which finally gave their official backing – and in the same year France took part in the first ever women's rugby international.

Players

edit

Current squad

edit

On 2 September 2024, France announced their 30-player squad for the WXV 1 competition that will be held in Canada.[1][2]

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Rose Bernadou Prop (2000-03-03)3 March 2000 (aged 24) 14   Montpellier HR
Axelle Berthoumieu Flanker (2000-07-09)9 July 2000 (aged 24) 14   Blagnac Rugby Féminin
Manon Bigot Hooker (1990-06-06)6 June 1990 (aged 34) 7   Blagnac Rugby Féminin
Maïlys Borak Prop (2004-01-12)12 January 2004 (aged 20)   Stade Bordelais
Yllana Brosseau Prop (2000-09-05)5 September 2000 (aged 24) 13   Stade Bordelais
Charlotte Escudero Back row (2000-12-26)26 December 2000 (aged 23) 21   Stade Toulousain
Madoussou Fall Second row (1998-03-17)17 March 1998 (aged 26) 31   Stade Bordelais
Manaé Feleu Second row (2000-02-03)3 February 2000 (aged 24) 18   FC Grenoble Amazones
Teani Feleu Flanker (2002-12-19)19 December 2002 (aged 21) 4   FC Grenoble Amazones
Émeline Gros Number 8 (1995-08-19)19 August 1995 (aged 29) 34   FC Grenoble Amazones
Hina Ikahehegi Second row (2003-04-29)29 April 2003 (aged 21) 1   Stade Villeneuvois
Assia Khalfaoui Prop (2001-03-24)24 March 2001 (aged 23) 24   Stade Bordelais
Romane Ménager Number 8 (1996-07-26)26 July 1996 (aged 28) 63   Montpellier HR
Ambre Mwayembe Prop (2004-03-01)1 March 2004 (aged 20) 11   FC Grenoble Amazones
Séraphine Okemba Prop (1995-12-03)3 December 1995 (aged 28) 1   Lyon OU Rugby
Élisa Riffonneau Hooker (2003-11-26)26 November 2003 (aged 20) 10   FC Grenoble Amazones
Agathe Sochat Hooker (1995-05-21)21 May 1995 (aged 29) 53   Stade Bordelais
Chloé Vauclin Prop (2005-05-07)7 May 2005 (aged 19)   Stade Rennais
Cyrielle Banet Wing (1994-08-29)29 August 1994 (aged 30) 28   Montpellier HR
Océane Bordes Scrum-half (2002-05-16)16 May 2002 (aged 22)   Stade Toulousain
Émilie Boulard Fullback (1999-08-28)28 August 1999 (aged 25) 32   Blagnac Rugby Féminin
Pauline Bourdon Sansus Scrum-half (1995-11-04)4 November 1995 (aged 28) 58   Stade Toulousain
Alexandra Chambon Scrum-half (2000-08-02)2 August 2000 (aged 24) 23   FC Grenoble Amazones
Chloé Jacquet Centre (2002-04-17)17 April 2002 (aged 22) 19   Lyon OU Rugby
Nassira Konde Centre (1999-07-30)30 July 1999 (aged 25) 11   Stade Bordelais
Mélissande Llorens Wing (2002-06-18)18 June 2002 (aged 22) 10   Blagnac Rugby Féminin
Marine Ménager Wing (1996-07-26)26 July 1996 (aged 28) 49   Montpellier HR
Lina Queyroi Fly-half (2001-05-18)18 May 2001 (aged 23) 14   Stade Toulousain
Lina Tuy Fly-half (2004-09-10)10 September 2004 (aged 20) 4   ASM Romagnat
Gabrielle Vernier Centre (1997-06-12)12 June 1997 (aged 27) 46   Blagnac Rugby Féminin

Previous squads

edit

Notable players

edit

Award winners

edit

World Rugby Awards

edit

The following France players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:[5]

World Rugby Women's 15s Try of the Year[6]
Year Date Nominee Match Tournament Winner
2021 3 April Emilie Boulard vs. Wales Six Nations Emilie Boulard
17 April Romane Ménager vs. Ireland Six Nations
2023 23 April Charlotte Escudero vs. Wales Six Nations
2024 29 September Marine Ménager vs. Canada WXV 1 Marine Ménager

Six Nations Awards

edit

The following France players have been recognised in the Women's Six Nations Awards since 2020:[7][8][9]

Record

edit
Top 20 rankings as of 25 November 2024[11]
Rank Change* Team Points
1     England 097.56
2     Canada 089.31
3     New Zealand 088.64
4     France 085.11
5     Australia 078.10
6     Ireland 078.03
7     Scotland 076.82
8     Italy 074.75
9     United States 074.20
10     Wales 072.58
11     Japan 066.41
12     South Africa 066.18
13     Spain 065.42
14     Russia 061.10
15     Samoa 060.56
16     Netherlands 060.20
17     Fiji 059.14
18     Hong Kong 056.20
19     Kazakhstan 055.23
20     Sweden 052.72
*Change from the previous week

Note: Although the FFR list all of the following as full internationals or "test matches" in their publications (including their website), they do not award caps for all of the games. In particular, no caps have been officially awarded for appearances before 1989 (when the FFR became responsible for women's rugby), and most matches in FIRA tournaments after 2004 are uncapped. As a result, there can be a significant difference between the number of appearances players may have made for France and their official number of caps.

Overall

edit

(Full internationals only)
Correct as of 29 April 2023

France internationals since 1982
Opponent First played Games played Won Drawn Lost Win rate (%)
  Australia 1998 5 4 0 1 80%
  Belgium 1988 1 1 0 0 100%
  Canada 1996 16 9 0 7 56.25%
  England 1991 54 14 0 40 25.92%
  Fiji 2022 1 1 0 0 100%
  Germany 1997 1 1 0 0 100%
  Great Britain 1986 4 3 0 1 75%
  Ireland 1994 31 27 1 3 87.09%
  Italy 1985 27 22 1 4 81.48%
  Japan 1991 3 3 0 0 100%
  Kazakhstan 1998 3 3 0 0 100%
  Netherlands 1982 12 11 0 1 91.66%
  New Zealand 1996 10 4 0 6 40%
  Scotland 1998 29 23 1 5 79.31%
  South Africa 2009 5 4 1 0 80%
  Spain 1989 19 14 0 5 73.68%
  Sweden 1991 4 4 0 0 100%
  United States 1996 13 10 1 2 76.92%
  Wales 1994 29 25 0 4 86.20%
Total 1982 267 183 5 79 68.53%

World Cup

edit
Rugby World Cup
Year Round Position GP W D L PF PA
  1991 Semi-finals *Third 3 2 0 1 99 13
  1994 3rd Place Playoff Third 5 4 0 1 240 26
  1998 7th Place Playoff 8th 5 2 0 3 52 68
  2002 3rd Place Playoff Third 4 3 0 1 93 58
  2006 3rd Place Playoff Third 5 3 0 2 102 85
  2010 3rd Place Playoff 4th 5 3 0 2 70 91
  2014 3rd Place Playoff Third 5 4 0 1 139 42
  2017 3rd Place Playoff Third 5 4 0 1 175 62
  2021 3rd Place Playoff Third 6 4 0 2 190 46
  2025 Qualified
  2029 TBD
  2033
Total 9/9 3rd 43 29 0 14 1160 491
  Champion   Runner-up   Third place   Fourth place
* Tied placing Best placing Home venue

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "XV de France féminin: Le groupe pour le Women XV" [Women's XV of France: The group for the Women's XV]. French Rugby Federation (in French). 2 September 2024. Archived from the original on 10 September 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  2. ^ Perkins, Bruce (2024-09-23). "All 18 squads for the 2024 WXV". 4 The Love Of Sport. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  3. ^ a b c World Rugby (18 November 2014). "2014 Inductee: Nathalie Amiel". Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  4. ^ AFP/de (channelnewsasia.com) (18 November 2014). "Rugby: Women enter IRB Hall of Fame for first time". Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  6. ^ "France's Boulard wins International Rugby Players Women's Try of the Year". www.sixnationsrugby.com. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Women's Six Nations Player of the Championship". Six Nations Rugby. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  8. ^ "2022 TikTok Women's Six Nations Team of the Championship revealed". Six Nations Rugby. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Revealed: The Fans' 2024 Team of the Championship". Six Nations Rugby. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Try of the Championship - Vote Now". sixnationsrugby.com. Women's Six Nations. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Women's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
edit