Former Canada coach François Ratier lauds WXV as ‘mini World Cup finals’

François Ratier, the former Canada coach who now leads Bordeaux, has his sights firmly set on the forthcoming match between France and Canada on the opening day of WXV 1 this Sunday.

If it hadn't been due to injuries – notably Joanna Grisez and Annaëlle Deshaye are recovering from hand and knee issues respectively – his Stade Bordelais Lionesses squad could have been cut by a dozen players.

Two have been called up to the Canada squad: back-row Fabiola Forteza and scrum-half Justine Pelletier.

Six have been called up for the French women's team: props Maïlys Borak, Assia Khalfaoui and Ylanna Brosseau, hooker Agathe Sochat (Stade Bordelais captain), second row Madoussou Fall and centre Nassira Kondé.

Add to that Rhona Lloyd, who has returned to South Africa to help Scotland defend their WXV 2 title over the next three weekends, and it's easy to see why the Lionesses are such a hot prospect.

“As a club coach, what I expect from the WXV, quite selfishly, is that they don't get injured,” laughs Ratier, who took over as Bordeaux coach last year and whose contract expires at the end of this season.

“I want them to come off the pitch in great shape. Then, whether it's the Canadians or the French, I want our Bordeaux players to make their team shine.”

Rhona Lloyd aside, it's hard to imagine that the Canadians and the French, who play side by side all year round and have even won the French title two years in a row, haven't mentioned their forthcoming showdown at Vancouver's BC Place on Sunday.

“They're friends. They've shared a lot of things together. The last time they met, Canada beat France on the same dates last year. It could be interesting,” believes Ratier.

Logically, the head coaches of the respective national teams turned to him to find out where their players stood. Kevin Rouet, current Canada head coach, was the first to ask about Forteza and Pelletier.

“He knows them perfectly. Both Kevin and I have seen them grow up with the province of Quebec, with Canada Development... I didn't tell him anything he already knew.

“They work extremely hard, they're 100 per cent dedicated to their club and the national team. They don't cheat. When it comes to their game, he knows them like the back of his hand. What makes them stand out the most is their work ethic,” says Ratier.

The Charente native, who still has one foot on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, is undoubtedly one of the most qualified experts to take an uncompromising look at either team's play.

And he wasn't too shy about sharing his opinion when RugbyPass asked him: “There's a lot of individual talent in the French team. It's a team that's building its game at the moment. For the moment, it's a game that's more about reacting than imposing a style; we saw that against England, for example.

“France have players who perhaps have more rugby experience and they are building their style.

“With Canada, it's a bit clearer; it's an extremely physical game up front – as usual, without compromise – with a lot of speed at the back now.

“It's a very positive game with a positive state of mind. They'll be riding on the momentum of the Olympics (silver medal) with the sevens players who will bring energy to this team.”

He himself, when he was in charge, didn't have the chance to experience a competition like WXV, of which this is only the second edition.

“We were already doing it, but it was up to the federations to pay for it,” recalls Ratier.

“We used to tour in Europe in November, on the same basis as the boys – England, France, Ireland for us. Except that these weren't World Rugby competitions, but Test matches arranged between federations.

“This (WXV) is a real, established competition. In terms of matches, we were able to reproduce more or less the same thing, but here, for the coaches, it's more comfortable in their planning and preparation.

“Things have improved a lot with World Rugby in terms of the number of quality matches and the match-ups, which are tighter. What's happening at the moment are mini World Cup finals. It's exceptional to have these competitions.”

Despite being 8,157 km away, he won't miss a beat!