A bridge, the Garonne and a few kilometers separate the Stade Ernest Argelès in Blagnac and the Stade Ernest Wallon in Toulouse. Facing Ireland, Saturday April 2, and in addition to the four Toulouse, eight other women from the XV of France will have the sweet impression of playing at home. Coco Lindelauf, Clara Joyeux, Audrey Forlani, Axelle Berthoumieu, Mélissande Llorens, Gabrielle Vernier and Célia Domain: more than a third of the team plays in Blagnac, the main supplier of the French women’s team.
“It is obviously a source of pride for the club” enthuses Benoît Trey, the president of the Haut-Garonne club. “There were even nine in the extended group, there are also girls in U20 or with the France team at 7, it’s the success of a whole club”, specifies as for him from the outset, the Blagnac manager.
Yes, Blagnac is a bastion of women’s rugby in France. Since its merger and then its merger with the historic club of Saint-Orens twice champion of France, in 1990 and 1993, it is even one of the most prominent clubs in the women’s elite. “We must render to Caesar what is Caesar’s”, smiles about this Benoît Trey.
Since then, the BRF has subscribed to the semi-finals of the French championship behind the ogres Montpellier and Toulouse and even experienced the pain of a lost final, in 2021 against ASM-Romagnat. Rare thing, in the same entity where the two teams are gathered, the women’s team evolves in a higher level than the men’s team which plays for its part in National, the third level.
“When I made the decision to sign for Blagnac in 2017, I knew it was an important club in the first division and which counted on women, remembers Clara Joyeux, today pillar of the 25 caps in the France team. I wanted to continue my studies with a BTS in animal production in Toulouse and get closer to my family from Lot, it was the ideal choice.”
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“Two years ago, we reinforced support for our women, details Benoit Trey, at the helm of the club since 2016. We put the same human and financial resources on men and women. From now on, there are plenty of criteria where our two pennant teams are at the same level. They have the same means of support, at the administrative or sporting level, play and train on the same infrastructures. We do not make differences in level between our two pennant teams, we lead the development of both.
“The main difference is that the girls are amateurs, apart from a few federal contracts, explains Nicolas Tranier, in charge of the women’s team for six years. They train four to six times a week, weight training and pitch included. But we try to stick to what is done with boys.
Many resources are also allocated to the training center and to young players. The club has already reaped the first laurels, with the advent of the first team players crowned junior French champions in 2018 and 2019. In the first team, they benefit from the valuable advice of experienced players like Audrey Forlani or Marjorie Mayans. “For young people arriving in the France team, it’s always reassuring to have teammates to lean on, abounds Clara Joyeux. Audrey and Marjorie have a lot of experience, whether in the French team or in a club, and that is very valuable.”
“I am delighted that they are broadcast on France 2 on a Sunday afternoon at prime time and that we dethrone Michel Drucker”
Benoit Treyat franceinfo: sport
This season, in the league, the Caouecs are in third position in the group of death, behind Stade Bordelais and Montpellier. Sufficient nevertheless to qualify for the final phase and hope to hang, finally, the title of champions of France, the announced objective of President Trey. Before that, the nine internationals that the club has will set out to conquer another trophy, that of the Six Nations Tournament.
Congratulations to the women’s XV of France who won their first match of the tournament. Congratulations to the whole team, as well as to our blagnacaises @FranceRugby @Blagnac_Rugby_F #6nations2022 #touscaouecs pic.twitter.com/kiLAjZO6wh
— Benoit TREY (@BenoitTREY) March 27, 2022
Benoît Trey confirms: “I read a lot that girls want to do like the boys or be inspired by them to win the Grand Slam. But they didn’t wait for them! The France group has been very strong for years. It’s more the boys who follow in their footsteps.”
Still, this time around, it was Fabien Galthié’s men who paved the way with a victory over Ireland followed by a Grand Slam. Saturday, shortly after 3 p.m., in a well-filled Ernest Wallon stadium and a few kilometers from the Blagnac stronghold, the Marseillaise will resound with a very special effect for these players.