2023-10-05 08:38:53
Rugby players have been able to carve out a place for themselves in the sporting landscape of the Breton capital, dominated by football and cycling. Double reigning champion of university women’s sevens rugby, the Rennes team retained its title on June 10 against the University of Clermont. This golden generation, led by Yann Moison, head of the university rugby training center in Rennes 2 since 1996, also won the European university championship on September 1 in Lisbon.
Founded in August 1999, Stade Rennais Rugby is the only French club exclusively for women. “At the time, there was no women’s rugby in Rennes, very little in Brittany, says Yann Moison. The project started from the university with female students. We We knew very quickly that we had to integrate the educational establishments. We then created a sports section at the Joliot-Curie high school, which then became the federal hope center in 2006.” The opening of Perf, the women’s rugby hopeful center (1), of which Stade Rennais Rugby is a partner, attracted the best players from the Great West to the Centre-Val de Loire.
Around thirty international players passed through Rennes
The close relationship between these three entities has never eroded. “It’s part of the project and the culture of the club. High-level players, who already play in the French team or are scheduled to be selected, will all go through the university training center. continues the coach who has seen around thirty international players like Lénaïg Corson and Caroline Drouin, two figures from Stade Rennes, come to Rennes 2.
Recognized for its expertise in training, the Breton team regularly supplies the French sevens and fifteens rugby team. “We currently have four players (2) under contract with the FFR (French Rugby Federation) who are preparing for the Olympic Games”rejoices Anne-Sophie Demoulin, who has presided over the destiny of the club since 2013. The manager, however, regrets that the secondment of the best elements did not give rise to financial compensation from the FFR for her club, with a modest budget of €400,000 per year.
The team hampered by a lack of infrastructure
Compared to other Elite 1 teams, backed by professional groups like Toulouse or Montpellier, coach Arnaud Le Berre has to deal with a squad reduced to around thirty players, often very young: “Our limited resources do not allow us to replace them during their long absences. There are seasons where we could have played in the final stages if our major players had been present at every meeting. »
This season, Stade Rennes will have to scrap to stay in the elite. “ This is a pivotal year. If we pass this milestone, the very beautiful generation that is coming should allow us to see the future with optimism,” develops the president. Yann Moison is on the same line: “The potential is very significant. It would be enough to keep the core of the best young players between three and five years old and to strengthen the forwards with targeted recruitment to regain the first four places in the championship in the short term. »
But Stade Rennes is hampered in its development by a lack of money and infrastructure. “not at the level of an elite club”, deplores Arnaud Le Berre. In Rennes, the municipality is being asked to modernize a large number of aging sports facilities. At Stade Rennes, the absence of a clubhouse and offices worthy of the name will not be remedied, according to Anne-Sophie Demoulin, before 2025.
Despite these shortcomings, the rugby school continues to grow year after year. An under-15 team should soon be formed. Proof that women’s rugby in Rennes is based on much more solid foundations than it seems.
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“Fervor is necessary, but not sufficient”
René Bouscatel, president of the National Rugby League (LNR)
“For there to be a sustainable club at the highest level, we must bring together demographic and economic conditions and draw up a real long-term territorial project. Popular fervor is necessary but it is not sufficient. When he headed the LNR, Serge Blanco wanted there to be a second professional division, a level allowing regions deprived of high-level rugby to reveal themselves. I admire clubs like Angoulême, Nevers, Vannes and Rouen. Some are not far from the Top 14. We are lucky to have an open championship in France, with ups and downs, which is not the case in the other leagues. In the future, it will be necessary to bring the Pro D2 and the Nationale 1 closer together (third division, Editor’s note) – without it becoming professional – to increase this competition and see new rugby lands emerge, further north. »
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