She is often compared to Antoine Dupont. Laura Sansus, 28 years old, scrum half of the XV of France Women and Toulouse Stadium was voted best player of the Six Nations Tournament this year. This Saturday, October 8, at 3:15 a.m. French time, she will face South Africa with Les Bleues for her first match in the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
France bleu: How do you feel so close to this first match against South Africa?
Laura Sansus : The first feeling is excitement. We’ve been waiting here and there for a long time, that’s it, the competition is about to start. So I think it’s the excitement that matters.
You’ve been in New Zealand for a good 15 days already, but the jet lag, are you okay?
Yes, we had time to acclimatize. It’s good, we’re on the right time zones now. But we had a few days in a bit of trouble where we were completely out of step. There, that’s it, we are adapted to local time.
This is your first World Cup, is there any particular apprehension?
Yes, there is apprehension. It’s a format I’ve never played. It’s something new for me. So yeah, it’s exciting. I’m curious to see how it’s going to go, after that it’s still the ultimate goal in a career so I can’t wait for it to really start.
It’s also a bit like the apotheosis of a somewhat special year for you, isn’t it? Because of course, you have been in the France team for six years, but you have exploded a little in the eyes of the general public this year, with your title of best player of the Six Nations Tournament, best Frenchwoman of the year too. Does it give you a special status?
No, I don’t feel like I have a special status. The season, it’s true, has been complete for me, whether with these awards or with the title of champion of France with the Stade. But no, I don’t feel like I have a special status. I am at the service of the team and if I can perform well, it will help the team. I hope to repeat the same performances so that we can go as far as possible in this competition.
Obviously, you are often compared to Antoine Dupont, because you are in the same club, you have the same scrum-half position. It is rather flattering for you. Do you know each other with Antoine?
We know each other from afar. We play in the same club, but hey, we don’t see each other often. We had a bit the same route, because he went through Jolimont like me. It is true that this year, this comparison has been made many times and I always take it with pleasure. When you see Antoine’s stature and the performances he does, it’s always flattering to be compared to him.
Do you still feel that you have a role to play in the media coverage of women’s rugby?
I think we all have a role to play, whether collectively or individually. And if I can allow women’s rugby to evolve, I do so with pleasure. But I think it goes from the youngest to the oldest, to the collective. So, we all have a role to play so that women’s rugby explodes as much as possible.
You started when you were very young near Labastide-Beauvoir. Then you went to Saint-Orens. You knew Fonsorbes before going to Stade Toulousain. What view would little Laure, who started like that in the small clubs of Haute-Garonne, have on the international career that you now have?
I think like many, I never imagined I would be here today. I started rugby, I played with the boys. I knew almost nothing about women’s rugby. Strangely, I didn’t want to play with girls, I wanted to stay with my friends, so it was hard for me to spend time with girls. And then, the journey was made little by little. I have always tried to do my best and without necessarily setting myself the objective of making a career in the France team or anything. For me, the essence was to have as much fun as possible, to have as much fun as possible. And I’m proud of that because today, keeping that mindset, I’ve managed to have a great career.
When did you know that you were going to make rugby your life, your career?
Frankly, I never considered it. Because rugby was just a hobby, we didn’t have a contract when I started, it was really fun and it’s only very recently, it’s been three years, that I’m under contract with the Federation. So it’s true that I have always protected myself from disappointment and the fact that normal life has to take over. And I always stopped myself from dreaming about more, the contracts, I saw them from afar and I said to myself if one day it happens to me, so much the better. But I always had my back covered and prepared my next.
It’s true that you are one of the few rugby professionals under contract with the Federation. You are around thirty in France. Does this still a little amateur side of women’s rugby suit you? We interviewed Audrey Abadie, the former Blues opener who still plays at Blagnac, she says “I’m fine with it because I’m afraid that the money, the professional side, will hinder the family side of women’s rugby a bit. “. Are you also afraid of that?
I am a little divided, I think that today we will have the need to enter a professional world, even in the clubs. If we want to go even further, if we want to succeed in publicizing the championship, if we want to succeed in getting the girls to prepare better and better, that the structures are adapted, I think thatwe will have to reach the professional world. But like Audrey, I think that the amateur, family side is something that is close to our hearts, to all of us, at least to our generation. But I think that in the long term, it will be necessary to manage to professionalize all that a little so that the championship becomes attractive, that the sponsors arrive, that the clubs throw themselves into it. So I think that the family side suits us well and we find ourselves there. But I think the coming generations will know him little.
Speaking of family, we went to see yours near Toutens, in Lauragais, there are nine of them leaving for New Zealand soon. Have they always supported you, including when it was extremely rare to have a daughter who plays rugby in the family?
Yes, I’m lucky to have a family where since I was little, I played rugby and it was never really a question. It has always been like this. Ever since I was little, I have played rugby. My whole family revolves around rugby, so it never shocked them. I’ve played with boys, it’s never been a problem. They always followed me on all the matches, whether in club or in the France team. And it is true that it has never been a debate. Finally, that I play rugby, being a girl, it has always been normal.
Laura, you are 28 years old. A priori, it’s your last World Cup, you stop rugby after the competition?
Yes that’s it. This will be my first, my last therefore.
You don’t find the elite with Stade Toulousain either?
No no. Me, it was my last season. I had the chance to finish with a title so I leave room for the little youngsters. For me, it’s over, whether in club or in the France team.
Well, you’re not thinking about that right now, but what will your life be like next?
It will be a normal life. That is to say that I resume my full-time contract at Stade Toulousain, in logistics and afterwards, I will calmly see to switch to training. But this is not the primary objective. The primary objective is to have time for myself and enjoy it.
- 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”