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)
France v New Zealand A Brief Scene-setting Two successive matches between the teams had seen a 1-point margin. You can’t get much closer than that. All three head coaches assembled their strongest line-ups, while paying attention to current form and fitness. For the French duo this meant Séraphine Okemba replacing Téani Feleu at 6. That
WXV1 – Round Two Langley, Vancouver USA v France The two warm-ups were worth 5 points each, but sadly the Laws of the Game haven’t caught up. The Eagles had to overcome a 2-11 record. France’s failure to secure the kick-off left them defending for their lives, but a holding-on decision under the posts saved
New Zealand v Ireland: France v Canada In the most dramatic circumstances imaginable the team from last year’s WXV3 beat the world champions. Two contrasting matches to complete the first weekend of WXV1: the world champions versus the seventh ranked; and an eagerly awaited meeting of the two nations constantly tussling for third spot. New
First the full French squad: Cyrielle Banet, Rose Bernadou, Axelle Berthoumieu, Manon Bigot, MaiIys Borak, Océane Bordes. Émilie Boulard, Pauline Bourdon Sansus, Yllana Brosseau, Alexandra Chambon. Madoussou Fall, Manae Feleu, Téani Feleu, Émeline Gros, Hina Ikahehegi, Chloé Jacquet, Assia Khalfaoui, Nassira Konde, Mélissande Llorens. Marine Ménager, Romane Ménager, Ambre Mwayembe, Séraphine Okemba, Lina Queyroi, Élisa
Blame the Parents When a child misbehaves, it’s often the parents who are blamed. How many of the complainants are parents themselves? In the rugby world the damning finger will point to the coaches. After another French loss at Gloucester, is that fair? In some respects, yes. Not for the first time, we can look
Lucky Fourteen Kingsholm, Gloucester As expected, England gained their fourteenth win over France in fourteen attempts, but you can be sure John Mitchell and his staff will have plenty of criticisms to make to the team in the post-match analysis. First, the nineteen points against. The Red Roses pride themselves on their defence and their
If England fans are looking for a comfortable victory, they need only glance at the following numbers to banish over-confidence: 1, 15, 2, 10, 2, 6, 23, 2, 4, 2, 12, 6, 5, 21. These are the margins of victory, going back to France’s last win in 2018. (full scores below). The two sides: England
The joint-coaches, Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz, have published the names of the 30 players to represent France in their match against England then the WXV1 series. It is: Forwards: Rose Bernadou, Axelle Berthoumieu, Manon Bigot, MaiIys Borak, Yllana Brosseau, Charlotte Escudero, Madoussou Fall, Manae Feleu, Téani Feleu, Émeline Gros, Hina Ikahehegi, Assia Khalfaoui, Romane
The Red Roses’ Summer Series fixtures against France and New Zealand will be broadcast live on BBC One. John Mitchell’s side, who secured a third consecutive Guinness Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam in April, host the French at Gloucester’s Kingsholm Stadium on Saturday 7th September, and then take on the Black Ferns at Twickenham Stadium
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