# 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.

## 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.
* French squad during the 2014 Six Nations

## Players
### Current squad

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

### Notable players

* Nathalie Amiel was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame on 17 November 2014. 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. She played at three Women's Rugby World Cups in 1991, 1994 and 2002.

### Award winners
#### World Rugby Awards

The following France players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:
World Rugby Women's 15s Player of the Year :
| Year | Nominees | Winners |
| 2006 | Delphine Plantet | — |
| 2014 | Safi N'Diaye | — |
| 2015 | Gaëlle Mignot | — |
| 2016 | Gaëlle Mignot (2) | — |
| 2018 | Jessy Trémoulière | Jessy Trémoulière |
| 2019 | Pauline Bourdon | — |
| 2021 | Caroline Boujard | — |
| 2021 | Laure Sansus | — |
| 2022 | Laure Sansus (2) | — |
| 2023 | Gabrielle Vernier | — |
| 2024 | Pauline Bourdon (2) | — |
World Rugby Women's 15s Dream Team of the Year :
| Year | Forwards | Forwards | Backs | Backs | Total |
| Year | No. | Players | No. | Players | Total |
| 2021 | 1. | Annaëlle Deshayes | 9. | Laure Sansus | 6 |
| 2021 | 2. | Agathe Sochat | 10. | Caroline Drouin | 6 |
| 2021 | 4. | Safi N'Diaye | 14. | Caroline Boujard | 6 |
| 2022 | 5. | Madoussou Fall | 9. | Laure Sansus (2) | 2 |
| 2023 | — | — | 9. | Pauline Bourdon | 2 |
| 2023 | — | — | 12. | Gabrielle Vernier | 2 |
| 2024 | — | — | 9. | Pauline Bourdon (2) | 1 |
World Rugby Women's 15s Try of the Year :
| Year | Date | Nominee | Match | Tournament | Winner |
| 2021 | 3 April | Emilie Boulard | vs. Wales | Six Nations | Emilie Boulard |
| 2021 | 17 April | Romane Ménager | vs. Ireland | Six Nations | Emilie Boulard |
| 2023 | 23 April | Charlotte Escudero | vs. Wales | Six Nations | — |
| 2024 | 29 September | Marine Ménager | vs. Canada | WXV 1 | Marine Ménager |

#### Six Nations Awards

The following France players have been recognised in the Women's Six Nations Awards since 2020:
Six Nations Player of the Championship :
| Year | Nominee | Winner |
| 2021 | Caroline Boujard | — |
| 2022 | Madoussou Fall | Laure Sansus |
| 2022 | Laure Sansus | Laure Sansus |
| 2023 | Gabrielle Vernier | Gabrielle Vernier |
| 2024 | Romane Ménager | — |
Six Nations Try of the Championship :
| Year | Nominee | Match | Winner | Ref |
| 2024 | Annaëlle Deshayes | vs. Italy | — | |
Six Nations Team of the Championship :
| Year | Forwards | Forwards | Backs | Backs | Total |
| Year | No. | Players | No. | Players | Total |
| 2022 | 4. | Madoussou Fall | 9. | Laure Sansus | 2 |
| 2023 | — | — | 9. | Pauline Bourdon | 3 |
| 2023 | — | — | 12. | Gabrielle Vernier | 3 |
| 2023 | — | — | 13. | Marine Ménager | 3 |
| 2024 | 4. | Manaé Feleu | — | — | 2 |
| 2024 | 8. | Romane Ménager | — | — | 2 |

## Record

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 |
| 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 | Qualified | Qualified | Qualified | Qualified | Qualified | Qualified | Qualified |
| 2029 | TBD |
| 2033 | TBD |
| Total | 9/9 | 3rd$^†$ | 43 | 29 | 0 | 14 | 1160 | 491 |
| Champion Runner-up Third place Fourth place * Tied placing $^†$ Best placing Home venue |||||||||