Australia<\/a> in Provence the week before.<\/p>\nThe players\u2019 reaction after Alexandra Chambon booted the ball into touch to end the match was a clear and physical demonstration of what that \u2018just one win\u2019 meant to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope this is the beginning of a beautiful story,\u201d Pauline Bourdon Sansus told journalists shortly after the final whistle at Stade Marcel Deflandre.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a long time since we beat a top three country. We can only be proud to have beaten the World Cup runners-up.\u201d
But there was no over-reaction in the squad \u2013 far from it. Bourdon Sansus even followed up that statement with an early warning.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I told the girls in the huddle, it was a great performance, but we always have to stay at the top of our game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe often struggle with inconsistency. We slip up after a good performance. I hope this [result] bodes well, but we have no reason to rest on our laurels because we all want to win titles, and we all want to work harder to catch up with the countries ahead of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new French philosophy was highlighted when she switched focus from that victory to the future and the WXV\u2019s southern hemisphere leg even as the celebrations were continuing in the dressing room.<\/p>\n
France has their eye on a bigger prize than breaking a losing run.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have the tour in New Zealand, and then we\u2019ll head back to our clubs and work even harder,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are plenty of areas we still need to improve, especially our work on the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still a long way behind the nations ahead of us, so it\u2019s up to us to catch up.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added, \u201cSince the Six Nations, we\u2019re less focused on spectacular performances \u2013 we\u2019re building something. We\u2019re on the right track. We\u2019re working hard, we\u2019re working well, and I think we\u2019re improving with every match, so it\u2019s encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n
France head coach Francois Ratier issued a timely reminder that the 2026 WXV Global Series is an early stage in the development of Les Bleues for the 2029 Women\u2019s Rugby World Cup in Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe home games against Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are important milestones. We\u2019re also seeing progress over three or four weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a game plan that\u2019s taking shape, and the girls are starting to make it their own. We\u2019re evolving together, growing together, and now we\u2019re starting to see the results.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to New Zealand with the ambition to perform and win matches. The team will be slightly revamped and rejuvenated, but the goal remains to continue progressing and achieving results.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scrum-half Bourdon Sansus hasn\u2019t travelled to New Zealand with the squad for their upcoming three matches in the WXV Global Series, as she has opted to stay in France for family reasons, but she remains available as injury cover if needed.<\/p>\n
She isn\u2019t the only absentee on the tour.<\/p>\n
Second row Madoussou Fall Raclot is pregnant, France\u2019s usual captain Manae Feleu is studying for medical exams and lock Siobhan Soqeta, prop Yllana Brosseau, and backrow Charlotte Escudero all joined Les Bleues\u2019 injury lists during the matches in Lyon, Aix and La Rochelle.<\/p>\n
Full-back Pauline Barrat and Joanne Grisez are also among the long-term absences.<\/p>\n
Another second row and another prop, Clo\u00e9 Correa and Ambre Mwayembe, are not part of the initial squad as suspensions from that extraordinary win over Australia in Provence rule them out of the opening test.<\/p>\n
But France have already shown greater strength in depth than many previously thought.<\/p>\n
Full-back Emilie Boulard has scored three tries in two matches on her return to the squad, and was the key difference in defence and attack between France and Canada last time out.<\/p>\n
And Teani Feleu has thrived in her preferred midfield position to such an extent that Ratier suggested she could \u201cplay in any top three team\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you want to be world champion, you look at who on your team would be a starter elsewhere. She would be. She still needs to work hard\u2026 but she holds the middle of the field, in attack and in defence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Romagnat nine and Bourdon Sansus\u2019 regular international understudy Chambon \u2013 whose late score in La Rochelle ended any possibility of an unlikely Canada fightback \u2013 will be captain in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese matches are fully in line with our project,\u201d Ratier said when the squad for New Zealand was announced.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will allow us to continue the work already underway with the group, while also offering young players the opportunity to test themselves against the best at the international level.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an important step in continuing to build and expand our squad.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was just one win. But what a difference a win makes. More importantly, perhaps, what a difference France\u2019s mindset right now seems to be making.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was just one win. But it meant something more. France head to the southern hemisphere leg of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630458,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[111,43,139,69],"class_list":["post-630457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}