France women's national rugby union team
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| Union | French Rugby Federation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Gaëlle Mignot & David Ortiz | ||
| Captain | Gaëlle Hermet | ||
| |||
World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 9 (First in 1991) | ||
| Best result | 3rd place, 1991, 1994, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2017 and 2021 | ||
The France women's national rugby union team (
History
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
- French squad during the 2014 Six Nations
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Players
Current squad
France announced their 35-player squad on 8 March for the 2024 Women's Six Nations Championship.[1][2][3]
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agathe Sochat | Hooker
|
21 May 1995 (aged 28) |  Stade Bordelais
| |
| Elisa Riffonneau | Hooker
|
26 November 2003 (aged 20) | 4 |  Trailfinders Women
|
| Manon Bigot | Hooker
|
6 June 1990 (aged 33) | 2 | Blagnac
|
Annaëlle Deshaye
|
Prop
|
16 March 1996 (aged 28) | 16 | Stade Bordelais
|
| Clara Joyeux | Prop
|
10 January 1998 (aged 26) | Stade Bordelais
| |
| Assia Khalfaoui | Prop
|
24 March 2001 (aged 22) | Stade Bordelais
| |
| Coco Lindelauf | Prop
|
17 January 2001 (aged 23) | Blagnac Rugby
| |
| Rose Bernadou | Prop
|
27 March 2000 (aged 23) | Montpellier
| |
| Kiara Zago | Second row
|
11 October 2005 (aged 18) | Stade Toulousain
| |
| Ambre Mwayembe | Second row
|
6 April 2004 (aged 19) | FC Grenoble Amazones
| |
| Madoussou Fall | Second row
|
17 March 1998 (aged 26) | Stade Bordelais
| |
Manae Feleu
|
Second row
|
3 February 2000 (aged 24) | FC Grenoble Amazones
| |
| Romane Ménager | Back row
|
26 July 1996 (aged 27) | Montpellier
| |
| Gaëlle Hermet | Back row
|
12 June 1996 (aged 27) | Stade Toulousain
| |
Emeline Gros
|
Back row
|
19 August 1995 (aged 28) | FC Grenoble Amazones
| |
| Axelle Berthoumieu | Back row
|
9 July 2000 (aged 23) | Blagnac Rugby
| |
| Charlotte Escudero | Back row
|
26 December 2000 (aged 23) | Stade Toulousain
| |
| Léa Champon | Back row
|
28 November 2003 (aged 20) | FC Grenoble Amazones
| |
| Pauline Bourdon-Sansus | Scrum-half
|
4 November 1995 (aged 28) | Stade Toulousain
| |
| Lina Tuy | Scrum-half
|
10 September 2004 (aged 19) | ASM Romagnat
| |
| Océane Bordes | Scrum-half
|
16 May 2002 (aged 21) | Stade Toulousain
| |
| Alexandra Chambon | Scrum-half
|
2 August 2000 (aged 23) | FC Grenoble Amazones
| |
| Suliana Sivi | Scrum-half
|
2004 (aged 19) | Stade Rennais
| |
| Chloé Vauclin | Scrum-half
|
7 March 2005 (aged 19) | Stade Rennais
| |
| Caroline Drouin | Fly-half
|
7 July 1996 (aged 27) | Stade Rennais
| |
| Nassira Kounde | Centre
|
30 July 1999 (aged 24) | Stade Bordelais
| |
| Gabrielle Vernier | Centre
|
12 June 1997 (aged 26) | Blagnac Rugby
| |
| Lina Queyroi | Centre
|
18 May 2001 (aged 22) | Blagnac Rugby
| |
| Teani Feleu | Centre
|
19 December 2002 (aged 21) | FC Grenoble Amazones
| |
| Kelly Arbey | Wing
|
9 May 2005 (aged 18) | Stade Toulousain
| |
| Marine Ménager | Wing
|
26 July 1996 (aged 27) | Montpellier
| |
| Cyrielle Banet | Wing
|
29 August 1994 (aged 29) | Montpellier
| |
| Émilie Boulard | Fullback
|
23 August 1999 (aged 24) | Blagnac Rugby
| |
| Morgane Bourgeois | Fullback
|
6 February 2003 (aged 21) | Stade Bordelais
| |
| Lilou Graciet | Fullback
|
26 February 2004 (aged 20) | Lyon OU
|
Previous squads
Notable players
- IRB Hall of Fame on 17 November 2014.[4][5] She made her international debut at 15 against Great Britain in London in 1986. She went on to win 56 caps for France by the time she retired in 2002.[4] She played at three Women’s Rugby World Cups in 1991, 1994 and 2002.[4]
Award winners
The following France players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:[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 | — |
Record
| Rank | Change* | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
England |
96.18 |
| 2 | |
 New Zealand |
90.56 |
| 3 | |
France |
88.00 |
| 4 | |
 Canada |
86.27 |
| 5 | |
 Australia |
81.61 |
| 6 | |
 Italy |
76.50 |
| 7 | |
 Scotland |
75.80 |
| 8 | |
 Wales |
73.41 |
| 9 | |
 United States |
72.57 |
| 10 | |
 Ireland |
72.35 |
| 11 | |
 Japan |
69.38 |
| 12 | |
 South Africa |
65.17 |
| 13 | |
 Spain |
65.15 |
| 14 | |
 Russia |
61.10 |
| 15 | |
 Samoa |
59.57 |
| 16 | |
 Netherlands |
58.98 |
| 17 | |
 Fiji |
58.65 |
| 18 | |
 Hong Kong |
58.31 |
| 19 | |
 Kazakhstan |
55.97 |
| 20 | |
 Sweden |
52.72 |
| *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
(Full internationals only)
Correct as of 29 April 2023
| 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
| 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 | ||||
| ||||||||||||
See also
- Rugby union in France
- France national rugby union team (men's team)
References
- ^ "Tournoi des Six Nations féminin 2024 : Le groupe pour préparer l'Irlande et l'Ecosse" (in French). French Rugby Federation. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "FRANCE REVEAL SQUAD FOR 2024 GUINNESS WOMEN'S SIX NATIONS - Guinness Women's Six Nations". www.sixnationsrugby.com. 2024-04-05. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Rendell, Sarah (2024-03-28). "France Women's Six Nations Squad - One change for Scotland". Rugby World. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c World Rugby (18 November 2014). "2014 Inductee: Nathalie Amiel". Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- ^ AFP/de (channelnewsasia.com) (18 November 2014). "Rugby: Women enter IRB Hall of Fame for first time". Retrieved 18 November 2014.
- ^ "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "Women's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
External links
- (in French) Official website of the Fédération Française de Rugby
- News on Planet-Rugby.com
- France on IRB.com
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