French Elite league

The French Top 8 returned after a week’s rest with a classic encounter, and a new leader.

Ireland number 8 Heather O’Brien recently upped sticks to join rising powerhouses of the French game, Toulouse – who were promoted to the Top 8 last season. Two games into her tenure for the southern French side, where she is also joined by another Irish player, Paula Fitzpatrick, she tell us how the move came about and what the experience is like.

Montpellier have won their third French championship in a row, beating Lille 17-3 in Bourg-en-Bresse today (Saturday)

Lille and Montpellier – the top two teams after the regular season in the French Top 8 – will meet in the play-off final on Saturday, which will be broadcast live on national TV for the first time.

The lack of significant numbers of players from northern teams in the French Six Nations squads this year became something of a talking point during the first few weeks of the year, so the outcome of the final games in the regular club season will have been a source of satisfaction for some.

After a gap of just over two months, the French Top 8 returned last weekend. Two rounds of games in the league phase remained, with playoff places on offer for the top four.

French TV’s much-anticipated “24 hours of women’s sport” included two games from the Top 8 last weekend, with both games decided by a single score.

Although (for most teams) there are now three games to play, we can now be pretty certain who the four teams who will play-off for the French championship in the spring.

The big event of an historic weekend saw live television cameras broadcast a women’s club match for the first time – but that was not the only event as the league phase of the French championship entered the final quarter.

Arguably the main excitement in the final weekend of Top 8 action was off the field as it was announced that two games in January will be televised for the first time, but there was still plenty of interest on the field as the the top teams aimed to go into the Christmas break with strong wins.

Last weekend was the first complete round of the French Top 8 since before the Dubai 7s. However, with games involving teams without players in the sevens squad going ahead in the interim, there have been quite a few changes since we last reviewed the championship.

French champions Montpellier have closed the gap on Lille at the top of the table after the narrowest of wins as the Top 8 reaches halfway.