France Blue Occitania continues this week series on the women’s XV of France with an Occitan accent before the opening of the World Cup on Saturday in New Zealand. Spotlight this Thursday on the Blagnac club, neighbor of Stade Toulousain, which has become the main reservoir of the Bleues. In a few years, Blagnac has become a breeding ground for champions and even the biggest provider of international players.
Today, of the 32 players in New Zealand, 9 wear the Blagnac jersey. The secret of the club? Having identified, trained and allowed the emergence of talents as the winger Mélissande Llorens whom we have already introduced to you this week.
But also the opener Lina Queyroi, 21, a little older than her teammate. Lina Queyroi was trained in Blagnac and explains to us why this is the strength of the club.
“We have a generation where we arrived a lot as youngsters and we climbed the ladder together, little by little. The most is really the emphasis on training at Blagnac and after the fact that the team is built from year after year.”
Almost twice as many players as Toulouse
This quota is almost double the Stade Toulousain which has 5 players with the Blues. For the match on Saturday, 8 Blagnacaises will start against 4 Toulouse. It must also be said that Blagnac has grown in particular with the arrival of Frédéric Michalakshareholder since 2016. A club which has given itself the means in particular to recruit players with the aim of becoming champion of France.
Last season, the Blagnacaises lost in the final of the championship against Toulouse. But there is no rivalry among Les Bleues, smiles Stade Toulousain player Maëlle Filopon. “We put aside everything that just happened. Me, I didn’t connect anyone. Maybe some Toulouse, but not me.” The hatchet is therefore buried with one objective: to become world champions.
A new series this week on France Bleu Occitanie
On Friday, for the last day of our series on the women’s XV of France, we will tell you about one of the stars of this French women’s rugby team and Stade Toulousain, the scrum half from Lauragais Laure Sansus. The French face South Africa on Saturday at 3:15 a.m. French time in their first group match in New Zealand. They will continue with the English the following Saturday.
- Episode 1 –
The female XV of France, between amateur and professional world - Episode 2 –
The meteoric rise of the Blagnacaise Mélissande Llorens - Episode 3 –
“Women’s rugby is a family spirit”