Stade Bordelais Women
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| Nickname | The Lionesses |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 |
| Ground(s) | Stade Sainte-Germaine Stade Chaban-Delmas |
| League | Élite 1 |
| 2024–25 | Champions (3rd title) |
| Official website | |
| www | |
Stade Bordelais Women are a French women's rugby union club, based in Bordeaux. They were founded in 2006 and participate in the Élite 1 competition, which is the top division of women's rugby in France. They are three-time Élite 1 champions having three consecutive victories in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
In 2006, the two historic rugby clubs of the Bordeaux metropolitan area, Stade Bordelais and Club Athlétique Bordeaux Bègles Gironde, merged to create Union Bordeaux Bègles, a pooling of resources that only covers the senior and youth teams of the two entities.[1]
Stade Bordelais then formed a women's team, with 32 registered players, to continue to compete on the national stage. The team joined Elite 2 in 2008. After losing in the final in 2011, they won the French second division championship in 2012. However, the Lionesses were unable to maintain their place in Elite 1 and were relegated to Elite 2 at the end of the 2013–14 season.
In October 2013, Stade Bordelais and ASPTT Bordeaux merged under the name Stade Bordelais ASPTT. Five seasons later, ASPTT regained its independence in October 2018, in order to join the ASPTT sports federation; Stade bordelais then regained its former name.
In 2018, following the reorganization of the women's divisions and the expansion of the 1st division from 8 to 16 clubs, the Lionnes joined Elite 1.
In 2020, Stade Bordelais entrusted the presidency of its women's section to three former rugby players, Guy Accoceberry, Patrick Laporte, and Laurent Treuil. That same year, four Quebec players joined the Lionnes: in Canada, lockdown measures against the COVID-19 pandemic had suspended rugby activities, so Justine Pelletier, Fabiola Forteza, Karen Paquin, and Andréanne Valois found a club in Bordeaux where they could continue training and competing. While the latter two left France after a few seasons, other Canadians temporarily joined the Bordeaux team: Alexandra Tessier, Gabrielle Senft, Magali Harvey, and Sarah-Maude Lachance. Their discipline and professionalism helped the Lionnes to gain momentum.
In 2021 the team did not reach the final stages of the Elite 1 championship, and lost in the semi-finals in 2022. Under the guidance of coaches Florent Torregaray and Fabrice Nivart, they won their first championship during the 2022–23 season.
In 2023, François Ratier, former coach of the Canadian women's and men's national teams, was contacted by the club to take over as head coach. He was assisted by Fabrice Nivart in the forwards and by former French international Rose Thomas in the backs. The team won the championship again in the 2023–24 season, and for a third consecutive time in 2024–25.
Current squad
2025–26 Élite 1 season squad:[2]
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
- Senior 15s internationally capped players are listed in bold.
