France
UnionFrench Rugby Federation
Head coachGaëlle Mignot & David Ortiz
CaptainGaëlle Hermet
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current3 (as of 9 January 2023)
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

The France women's national rugby union team (French: équipe de France féminine de rugby à XV) 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.

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 first ever women's rugby international.

Current squad

France announced their final squad on 2 October 2023 for the inaugural WXV 1 tournament in New Zealand.[1]

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Agathe Sochat Hooker (1995-05-21)21 May 1995 (aged 28) 32 France Stade Bordelais
Laure Touyé Hooker (1996-05-12)12 May 1996 (aged 27) France Montpellier HR
Yllana Brosseau Prop (2000-09-05)5 September 2000 (aged 23) France AC Bobigny 93 Rugby
Clara Joyeux Prop (1998-01-10)10 January 1998 (aged 25) 30 France Blagnac Rugby Féminin
Assia Khalfaoui Prop (2001-03-24)24 March 2001 (aged 22) 14 France Stade Bordelais
Coco Lindelauf Prop (2001-01-17)17 January 2001 (aged 22) France Blagnac Rugby Féminin
Ambre Mwayembe Lock (2004-04-06)6 April 2004 (aged 19) 2 France FC Grenoble Amazones
Élisa Riffonneau Lock (2003-09-03)3 September 2003 (aged 20) 3 England Ealing Trailfinders
Madoussou Fall Lock (1998-03-17)17 March 1998 (aged 25) France Stade Bordelais
Manaé Feleu Lock (2000-02-03)3 February 2000 (aged 23) 3 France FC Grenoble Amazones
Audrey Forlani Lock (1991-11-19)19 November 1991 (aged 31) 47 France Blagnac Rugby Féminin
Kiara Zago Lock (2005-10-11)11 October 2005 (aged 18) France Stade Toulousain
Axelle Berthoumieu Flanker (2000-07-09)9 July 2000 (aged 23) 9 France Blagnac Rugby Féminin
Léa Champon Flanker (2003-11-28)28 November 2003 (aged 19) France FC Grenoble Amazones
Charlotte Escudero Flanker (2000-12-26)26 December 2000 (aged 22) 11 France Blagnac Rugby Féminin
Gaëlle Hermet Flanker (1996-06-12)12 June 1996 (aged 27) 38 France Stade Toulousain
Émeline Gros Number 8 (1995-08-19)19 August 1995 (aged 28) 20 France FC Grenoble Amazones
Océane Bordes Scrum-half (2002-05-16)16 May 2002 (aged 21) France Stade Toulousain
Pauline Bourdon Scrum-half (1995-11-04)4 November 1995 (aged 27) 38 France Stade Toulousain
Alexandra Chambon Scrum-half (2000-08-02)2 August 2000 (aged 23) 14 France FC Grenoble Amazones
Carla Arbez Fly-half (1999-05-24) 24 May 1999 4 France Stade Bordelais
Morgane Bourgeois Fly-half (2003-02-06)6 February 2003 (aged 20) 1 France Stade Bordelais
Lina Queyroi Centre (2001-05-18)18 May 2001 (aged 22) France Blagnac Rugby Féminin
Nassira Konde Centre (1999-07-30)30 July 1999 (aged 24) France Stade Bordelais
Gabrielle Vernier Centre (1997-06-12)12 June 1997 (aged 26) 30 France Blagnac Rugby Féminin
Cyrielle Banet Wing (1994-08-29) 29 August 1994 18 France Montpellier HR
Marine Ménager Wing (1996-07-26)26 July 1996 (aged 27) France Montpellier HR
Caroline Boujard Wing (1994-01-06)6 January 1994 (aged 29) 26 France Montpellier HR
Émilie Boulard Fullback (1999-08-23)23 August 1999 (aged 24) 23 France Blagnac Rugby Féminin
Suliana Sivi Fullback {{{age}}} France Stade Rennais Rugby

Previous squads

Record

Top 20 rankings as of 25 December 2023[2]
RankChange*TeamPoints
1 Steady England096.18
2 Steady New Zealand090.56
3 Steady France087.89
4 Steady Canada086.27
5 Steady Australia081.61
6 Steady Wales076.67
7 Steady Italy075.61
8 Steady Scotland074.37
9 Steady United States072.02
10 Steady Ireland071.52
11 Steady Japan069.38
12 Steady Spain064.89
13 Steady South Africa064.37
14 Steady Russia061.10
15 Steady Netherlands060.02
16 Steady Samoa059.57
17 Steady Fiji058.65
18 Steady Hong Kong058.31
19 Steady Sweden056.01
20 Steady Kazakhstan055.97
*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

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

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

Notable players

See also

References

  1. "Le groupe France pour le Women XV". French Rugby Federation (in French). 2 October 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  2. "Women's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 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.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.