Amédée, Ménager and Okemba out of Grand Slam decider

A tough blow for France on the eve of their clash against the Red Roses in the 2025 Women’s Six Nations final match. On Tuesday, April 22, the staff confirmed the withdrawals of Montserrat Amédée, Romane Ménager, and Séraphine Okemba.

“Montserrat Amédée (Stade Bordelais), Romane Ménager (Montpellier HR) and Séraphine Okemba (LOU Rugby) have been ruled out. Taïna Maka (FC Grenoble Amazones) and Maélig Ngassa-Manac’h (Stade Rennais) join the squad to prepare for the match against England as part of Round 5 of the 2025 Women’s Six Nations,” the statement read.

No reasons were given for the trio’s withdrawal. The match day squad to face England in the Championship finale, set for Saturday, April 26, had been announced the previous evening.

Back-row Séraphine Okemba had featured in all of France’s recent XVs fixtures since helping the national sevens team finish fifth at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, earning eight caps since autumn 2024.

That’s the same number of caps earned by centre Montserrat Amédée, who returned to international rugby in 2025 after last appearing in 2018. She was named in the squad for France’s home games against Scotland and Wales earlier in the tournament.

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

5

Draws

0

Wins

0

Average Points scored

40

21

First try wins

100%

Home team wins

40%

Back-row Romane Ménager had only just returned to action against Italy, having been sidelined following a concussion that occurred last December with Montpellier. She had initially come back into competition at the Hong Kong Sevens, but was considered not quite ready for the Wales match in Round 3 of the Six Nations.

Taïna Maka (20), from Wallis and Futuna, plays both as a number eight and second-row for FC Grenoble and is uncapped at senior level, as is 21-year-old centre Maélig Ngassa-Manac’h from Stade Rennais Rugby.