The French head coaches have selected 38 players to take part in training sessions in Elche, southern Spain, from 3-10 January.
They are:
Montserrat Amedéé (Stade Bordelais/Sporting Union Agenais)
Carla Arbez (Stade Bordelais/Oleron)
Pauline Barrat (Stade Toulousain/Stade Rochelais)
Rose Bernadou (Montpellier/Les Rives d’Orb)
MaiIys Borak (Stade Bordelais/Toulonnais)
Océane Bordes (Stade Toulousain/Stade Bagnerais)
Émilie Boulard (Blagnac/Chilly-Mazarin)
Pauline Bourdon Sansus (Stade Toulousain/Capo Limoges)
Morgane Bourgeois (Stade Bordelais/Parempuyre)
Alexandra Chambon (Grenoble Amazones/Montmélian)
Léa Champon (Grenoble Amazones/Vinay)
Célia Domain (Blagnac)
Charlotte Escudéro (Stade Toulousain/Valettois Revestois)
Manae Feleu Grenoble Amazones/Afili Futuna)
Téani Feleu (Grenoble Amazones/Afili Futuna)
Émeline Gros (Grenoble Amazones/CA Mauriennais)
Gaëlle Hermet (Stade Toulousain/US Carmausine)
Hina Ikahehegi (Stade Villeneuvois)
Chloé Jacquet (Lyon OU/Viriat)
Clara Joyeux (Blagnac/JSE SP Grammatoise)
Assia Khalfaoui (Stade Bordelais/COP XV Pont-du-Casse)
Nassira Konde (Stade Bordelais/Terres de France)
Mélissande Llorens (Blagnac/Capbreton Hossegor)
Anna Macipe (Montpellier/US Valréassienne)
Taina Maka (Grenoble Amazones/US Rhône XV)
Marine Ménager (Montpellier/Stade Villeneuvois)
Marie Morland (Lyon OU/Tangonnais)
Ambre Mwayembe (Grenoble Amazones/US Vizille)
Séraphine Okemba (Lyon OU/Drouais)
Lina Queyroi (Stade Toulousain/Union Auvezere)
Élisa Riffonneau (Grenoble Amazones/US Joué)
Suliana Sivi (Stade Rennais/Rugby Club Concarnois)
Agathe Sochat (Stade Bordelais/USA Limoges)
Laure Touye (Montpellier/Grenade sport)
Lina Tuy (ASM Romagnat/Aixe Rugby Athlétique)
Chloé Vauclin (Stade Rennais/Plabennec)
Gabrielle Vernier (Blagnac/Rueil)
Kiara Zago (Stade Toulousain/US Casteljaloux)
One detail: you’ll notice how the FFR add the players’ original club, a feature they introduced as season or two ago, with the local club’s name sewn minutely into the player’s shirt number.
The staff have opted for an extended group, very much the fashion these days.
Selection has been a key point of contention for everyone, bar the people in charge. They have opted for a host of familiar faces, plus the return of one or two from a while back, most notably Montserrat Amedéé, who once looked like France’s answer to the 15 shirt. But then, will the much younger Morgane Bourgeois find favour again? Her non-selection for WXV was a surprise.
Among the new faces are Anna Macipe, who plays centre and has won several caps for the all- conquering U20 side, and Taina Maka, a hghly promising back-rower in the U20s, who has the same pedigree as the Feleu sisters: a native of Wallis and Futuna in the Pacific. Pauline Barrat, a young back, has appeared in French 7s squads and impresssed at Stade Toulousain.
A noticeable absentee is Romane Ménager, who suffered an ankle injury in late 2024. If she cannot recover in time, that will be a considerable loss for the team.
Once more we have to guess at the entente between this group and the 7s squad. Of the French team at the Paris Olympics only Suliana Sivi finds a place on the Elche list. Others have played 7s, notably Chloé Jacquet and Mélissande Llorens.
Any Change in Game-Plans?
I once wrote a piece entitled “The French case reopened”. It’s just as fitting today.
The co-coaches, Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz, are still in place, so the top brass at the FFR are not minded to sack managers at the first opportunity. But Les Bleues have suffered a number of reverses under their tutelage. Forget their troubles against England; they have twice finished fifth at WXV and currently lie fourth in world rankings, a distance behind the Black Ferns.
While those stats might be perfectly understandable, we have to set them against the overwhelming success of the team immediately below them, the Under 20s. They often join their seniors in training sessions, and many have come through from that source. but somehow the shine wears off in the transfer to higher things.
It’s noticeable in the 6 Nations, where France can finish comfortably second, but without dominant victories over the four other nations. They top-scored with 40 against Wales, but came away from Edinburgh with a very tight 15-5 win.
Will the management be contemplating any adjustments to their game-plan? The style is highly attractive, but oh so liable to breakdown, one off-load too many. An emphasis on the basic units of the game, scrum, line-out and breakdown, might help.
Their first outing since WXV will be against Ireland in Belfast. That promises to be a real tester for them.
A Foonote
As widely expected, World Rugby has adopted four experimental law changes to help speed the game up:
1. 60 seconds for conversions, in line with penalties.
2. The game continues when an inaccurate throw to the line-out is uncontested.
3. 30 seconds allowed for the line-out to form.
4. Increased protection for the scrum-half at scrum, maul and ruck.
All relevant parties have given their blessing to these changes, which came into operation at the start of the year.
