France expand their sevens squad

19 year-oldMontserrat Amédée- one of three new players in the French sevens squad (photo: http://www.ladepeche.fr/)

Jessy Trémoulière, Montserrat Amédée and Laurelin Fourcade have accepted invitations to join the French national sevens squad, joining the existing 16 players who were contracted last season.

Both Fourcade and Amédée have experience with the full national sevens team, most recently when they were drafted into the squad in London and Amsterdam to cover for a series of injuries.

For 19 year-old Amédée it was that experience that encouraged her to sign her contract:

“When I took part in the London and Amsterdam tournaments I fell in love with the festive atmosphere of the tournament and the razzmatazz that is part of the sevens game”, she said. “I’ve always liked this format and today to be able to be part of the team that will go live the Olympic Dream, it is something I could never have hoped for! ".

Fourcade (26), the senior of the trio, was a little more measured in her response. The former drum majourette switched to rugby when she was 17,has been in and out of the national XVs team for over four years.and had no doubts when the opportunity was offered:

“This is a unique chance to be able to live my passion and practise in ideal conditions,” she said, “with an experienced staff and training facilities that are the dream for any athlete. I know that I am very lucky and I will make every effort to give the best of myself to the French team."

In contrast Jessy Trémoulière (22) has never played sevens with the national team, and has just completed her best-ever international season at fifteens.  For her it was a more difficult decision, as joining the squad will restrict both her club and national XVs experiences. However she has been part of the wider French sevens programme since last year, having first appeared as part of the French “A” squad at the Amsterdam Sevens in 2014.

In the end she said that “this contract was an opportunity I could not let go. After having had the chance to wear the French colours at the World cup in 2014, what pride it would be to participate in the Olympic Games in Rio! This will give me a chance to achieve that."

The players will remain semi-pro, though their weeks will now be 75% rugby instead of 50% last year, and will, it appears, continue to be available for both club and national XVs teams so long as that does not conflict with sevens commitments.