Les joueuses de l’équipe de France peuvent-elles jouer à l’étranger ?
Elisa Riffonneau est la seule – du moins pour l’instant. La talonneuse internationale (20 ans, 10 sélections), est la seule membre du XV de France féminin à évoluer dans un club étranger, en l’occurrence aux Ealing Trailfinders, dans le Premiership Women’s Rugby, la première division anglaise (le club est d’ailleurs classé 6e (sur neuf équipes).
« Je suis à Sciences-Po et en troisième année on est obligé de partir à l’étranger », raconte-t-elle. « Au début je ne savais pas trop si j’allais partir ou faire une année de césure et finalement, en discutant avec le staff et Sciences-Po, j’ai décidé de partir en Angleterre. C’est une occasion pour moi de voir le rugby Outre-Manche et voir comment ça se passait. »
Selon elle, la différence entre la préparation en France et en Angleterre n’est pas si différente. « On s’entraine le soir trois fois par semaine et on joue le week-end. En termes d’entrainement, le volume n’est pas vraiment différent », affirme-t-elle.
Un match par week-end sur RugbyPass TV
La seule grosse différence en réalité est la diffusion d’un match du week-end à la télévision et singulièrement sur RugbyPassTV.
« C’est plutôt cool parce qu’il y a beaucoup de monde qui vient et c’est beaucoup regardé », dit-elle. « Ça met en valeur notre championnat, même si ce n’est qu’un match par week-end. Mais c’est déjà très bien et on est très contentes. Ça ne change pas grand-chose dans la façon dont on va jouer, mais ça a une grande influence sur la promotion du rugby féminin. »
Paradoxalement, passer à l’étranger n’est pas fréquent – même si Gaëlle Mignot, l’actuelle sélectionneure, l’a fait en son temps, à Richmond (2017-2018) – alors que l’inverse est plus fréquent.
« Avant le Covid on avait une Canadienne à Toulouse, une Hollandaise, une Anglaise, et là on a une joueuse espagnole », raconte à RugbyPass la trois-quarts centre Maëlle Filoppon (25 sélections) qui, elle-même, n’est pas intéressée par une carrière à l’étranger.
La réforme de Elite 1 très attendue
« Pas pour l’instant car j’évolue dans un club avec des entraîneurs fantastiques, la question ne se pose pas », assure-t-elle. « Normalement la saison prochaine le championnat (Elite 1, ndlr) évolue dans un sens positif. »
Pourtant, la règle d’éligibilité au XV de France n’est pas contraignante. « Il n’y a pas de règle, juste une histoire de contrat », indique France Rugby à RugbyPass. « Les joueuses ne peuvent pas cumuler contrat avec la FFR et contrat avec un club pro. Légalement, ce n’est pas possible.
« Donc Elisa Riffonneau a résilié son contrat avec la FFR pour aller jouer en Angleterre. Mais elle est toujours sélectionnée avec le XV de France. »
Alors que le championnat national féminin anglais est présenté à juste titre comme le meilleur de l’hémisphère nord, la FFR doit-elle redouter une fuite des joueuses en quête d’une nouvelle expérience ?
La refonte complète de Elite 1 s’annonce plus que jamais très attendue pour la saison prochaine pour ne pas voir une telle situation se produire.
La Coupe du Monde de Rugby Féminin 2025 arrive en Angleterre. Inscrivez-vous ici pour être le premier à recevoir des informations sur la billetterie.
Comments on RugbyPass
A distinct discomfort with the officiating they were probably selected from the local IRA narcos branch along with the commentators bloody fly tippers.
1 Go to commentsWow, never thought I would read that
1 Go to commentsExcellent match. Great to see Keenan and Ryan back for Leinster. Super result for Ulster. Season is turning around.
1 Go to comments“We need eight or nine new players, who are hard-wearing and durable and experienced Premiership performers”. So why are they scouting a retired fullback who himself admits that his “body is broken”?
1 Go to commentsBrumbies hand, knocked a Crusaders hand. Therefore, knock on in goal. Crusaders, goal line drop out should’ve been awarded. most likely after that 24 each at full time, so extra time would’ve been the right an entertaining outcome. Act Jim
1 Go to commentsSpeell cehck
1 Go to commentsColeman is gaawwwwnnn.
1 Go to commentsnext SA head coach?
3 Go to commentsGreat try by van Poortvliet.
1 Go to commentsThey have been cruelled by injuries but almost nobody (Sevu Reece and Fletcher Newell big exceptions) has played above himself which regularly happened before. Surely Scott Robertson had maintained the recruitment programme and it looks like a reasonable squad. Last in this competition will stall a lot of careers. Penny seems likeable. But it’s not enough even though this was better. We haven’t been good enough and it’s not helped by the “it’s been 15 years since… “etc “after nearly every match. Seems somehow a soft gifting of something once valuable. Kieran Read giving comments last week almost choked describing the easy surrender of possession by the forwards. I’d love to think that the senior players some of whom are back can show enough pride in the jersey to test the Blues next week.
3 Go to commentsWho will Joe select for the back three with so many in form candidates? Just hope he doesn’t get shafted like Dave Rennie and to a lesser extent Deans.
6 Go to commentsAlways reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
3 Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
6 Go to commentsWe dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to commentsThe Sharks’ 2nd team maybe?
1 Go to comments‘radical’
1 Go to commentsCome back to Christchurch Robbie, please!
1 Go to commentsI think there is zero chance Sam Cane will be selected for another Test. There is simply no point except sentimentality. Razor is not sentimental- ask Wyatt Crocket. Razor is a ruthless selector
5 Go to comments> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
5 Go to comments