François Ratier: 'I’m very excited and very proud'

Christmas may be over half a year away, but judging by France’s new head coach François Ratier you would be forgiven for thinking it is round the corner with the former Canada boss as excited as a child on 24 December.

At the Guinness Women’s Six Nations launch in central London, the 53-year-old grinned from ear to ear, he shook everyone’s hand, greeted old friends, and shared his thoughts with anyone that asked.

There are five rounds of on-field challenges coming up over the next couple of months. Ratier gives over an air of being care-free, relaxed and counting down the days till his Championship debut.

“It’s great because first, it’s a big feeling and I’m very excited, and very proud to represent France,” he told RugbyPass. “It is my first Six Nations too. I used to coach Canada in other competitions, but the Six Nations is something special for the French.

“The Six Nations, it’s like a rendezvous. For the men’s it’s 120 years of rivalry with England. For the French women, it’s more recent, but it’s the same excitement about it. It’s a European Championship. If you win it, you’re European champions.”

Ratier started his new job at the start January, but his first on-pitch challenge is on Saturday 11 April when France host Italy at the Stade des Alpes in Grenoble. Then come clashes away to Wales, at home to Ireland, away to Scotland and, finally, at home to England.

England have denied France the Championship every year since 2018. Last year they squeaked by with a 42-41 victory at Allianz Stadium and then beat Les Bleues in the Women’s Rugby World Cup semi-finals.

Ratier knows all about heart-breaking defeats to England. They beat his Canada outfit in the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup final. But the Red Roses have not haunted his every waking moment since.

“I will tell you a big cliche right now,” he smiled. “I’m focusing on Italy, in Grenoble in 11 days and that’s all. That’s where I’m looking right now. No further talks about England.”

As a player, Ratier played on the wing for Soyaux-Angoulême in the 1990s before injury curtailed his career. Unsure of what to do next, he headed to Canada and Montreal where his coaching career took off. He even met his wife.

Ratier looked after the men’s Under-17s from 2008 to 2012 and a year later took over the women’s senior side. He stepped down after they reached the quarter-finals of the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup having also had a brief spell as men’s interim coach after Kieran Crowley resigned in 2016.

He stayed in Canada and become head coach of Rugby Canada’s academy, while also helping coach the national senior men’s centralised program. Spells as Rugby Quebec’s director general and technical director, and the Toronto Arrows as a consultant coach in Major League Rugby followed. When the Ontario franchise disappeared in 2023 he returned to France as head coach of Stade Bordelais and won two Elite 1 Féminine titles.

France full-back Morgane Bourgeois, who was part of his team in Bordeaux, recently told RugbyPass that you could see the Canadian influence on his coaching style, with his teams adopting a more “Anglo-Saxon” approach than others in France.

France’s Round 5 showdown England on Sunday 17 May means that Ratier will make a swift return to Bordeaux with the match taking place at Stade Matmut Atlantique. Last year France may have come within a point at Allianz Stadium, but they spent much of the match chasing John Mitchell’s side and trailed 31-7 at one stage in the first half. Something Ratier wants to avoid.

“We have to be more clinical,” he said. “The French team needs to be more clinical, more technical. When it matters, under pressure, they know how to play rugby. We know how to counter-attack to play in chaos, to create things from nothing, but it’s always in reaction.

“Now, we need to put our game forward and control what we’re doing, and keep that flair, keep that willingness to play, to create things, but we need to be way more consistent.”

Ratier has involved a lot of new talent in his squad, and he predicts the average age of his squad will be around the 23-24 mark. He has also freshened up the coaching team with Gérald Bastide – an assistant coach for France’s senior men under Guy Novés – in charge of defence, transition and skills, and Florent Wieczorek his forwards coach.

One thing that won’t change though, is his choice of captain. Ratier’s predecessors Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz made Manaé Feleu their captain for the WXV1 in 2023, and Feleu’s new boss had no hesitation in keeping her in the role.

“For me, it was almost a no brainer, because the moment I met her, I realised that she would be a great captain,” Ratier said. “I could have changed her and chosen someone else, but when I met all the players, she’s the one who gets everyone to listen. She’s the one that people go to if they have a problem.”