France set high expectations after frustrating start to 2025/26

To start the 2025/26 HSBC SVNS Series season in Dubai and Cape Town, France’s women have had mixed fortunes.

On their season opening trip to the desert, Romain Huet’s team placed seventh and rallied a week later at Cape Town Stadium to claim a third-place finish in a hard fought contest with the USA.

Such a contrast in performances has offered delight and frustration for the team’s head coach.

“We experienced everything in the first tournament,” Huet told ffr.fr. “We didn’t stick to our principles, we put ourselves in a difficult position, and in a two-day tournament, things can change very quickly.

“It was disappointing. But what was very interesting was the way we debriefed, without getting carried away with emotion.

“The content produced in Cape Town was much more polished, with a far better result. That’s what we want to build on.”

The side have spent the past two months preparing for group stage matches with New Zealand and Great Britain in a challenging Pool B in Singapore.

For their travels to Singapore, and then Perth, Huet has selected a squad with an average age of 20.

Even with his squad’s inexperience, Huet has his expectations set high and wants his young side to continue their growth.

“The goal is to reach the semi-finals, and then to be extremely ambitious,” Huet said.

“We have a glass ceiling right now, this semi-final stage where we stumble against certain teams. But we’re getting closer in terms of our performance.

“I feel that our ambition is growing. This is the youngest group we’ve sent to a tournament, but they’ve shown a lot. This week, we’ve been ambitious with our approach.

“Now, the goal is to build confidence, recover well, play simply, and arrive in Singapore with a lot of desire and determination.”