Top 10 players: Nathalie Amiel

Nathalie AmielMajor team:Saint-OrensPosition:CentreCountry:FranceTest span:1986-2002

Nathalie Amiel and French women’s rugby go hand in hand and every success thegame in France has had over the past three decades has had herhandprint marked firmly all over it.Her remarkable 16 year career as a French international ended in 2002but her involvement in the national team coaching set up since hasbeen highly influentia,l as she’s helped the French to numerousaccolades, including third at the World Cup last year as well as a SixNations title.

Right form the off, Amiel was set to be rugby star and her back story makes some reading. Something of a child prodigy, she was playing rugby right from a very young age having attended the local rugby school in Capestang as a 12-year-old and already being good enough to be talent spotted.While there, her skills, knowledge and potential were spotted by former international Olivier Saisset, at the time the head coach of Beziers, and on his recommendation she was brought into the Languedoc Rugby Academy, where she was the only girl among several aspiring male players.Incredibly the versatile centre then made her international debut at the age of 15 against Great Britain in London in 1986, the start of what would be a stellar career. It spanned three World Cups in 1991, 1994 and 2002 – the latter at which she captained the team and she also led her country to the Five Nations Women’s Grand Slam. She was a member of the French team who won the European Championships in 1988, 1996, 1999 and 2000 and her attacking brilliance at centre terrified teams who were forced to come with strategies simply just to halt her enormous influence.Unsurprisingly her 20-year club playing career was also a success and was divided between Narbonne, where she started out, and Saint-Orens for which she played from 1992 until her retirement in 2002.She won 56 caps and has since coached numerous senior men’s teams, joining the French national women’s set up in 2009, becoming one of the lead coaches last year. She has been inducted into World Rugby's of Fame and has been honoured with a National Order of Merit in France.

A legend of the game and the first player to make our Women's Top 10 of all time list.

The top ten best women's players ever originally appeared in Rugby: The Greatest Players, from the makers of Rugby World magazine and was written by Ali Donnelly. Find out who the 130 best male players are, position by position, in the bookazine - on sale in WHSmith until 19  November in the UK.