Axel May, edited by Laura Laplaud 08:54, March 26, 2023

After the gentlemen, it's time for the ladies! The Women's VI Nations Tournament kicked off this weekend. At 16 p.m. this Sunday, the Blues face the Italians in Parma. Since their 3rd place at the World Cup at the end of last year in New Zealand, the enthusiasm around this team is present.

The French compete in the Six Nations Tournament. The Blues face this Sunday the Italians in Parma. After a World Cup played at the antipodes, concluded by a bronze medal but especially marked by a frustrating semi-final lost and by tensions with the former coach, the Blues begin a new cycle and the Six Nations Tournament will allow them to find their public.

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"We will have more and more enthusiasm for our rugby"

"In this tournament, we will switch. We will have more and more enthusiasm for our rugby. We don't realize it yet, we're realizing it and it's great. We are also well supported by the men's XV of France which works well. If French rugby is doing well today, it's great. And if people like to follow us and watch us, it's great and we will try to continue to make them want to," said hooker Agathe Sochat. The last time Les Bleues won the competition was in 2018.

A record attendance expected

If the first two matches of the Six Nations Tournament will take place away, in Italy this Sunday and in Ireland next Saturday, the home matches in April should be sold out in Vannes against Scotland, and in Grenoble against Wales. In the meantime, there will undoubtedly be a world record attendance for women's rugby since at the end of the tournament, the Blues will play in the English den of Twickenham where, a month before the event, 40,000 tickets have already been sold.

For the record, the world attendance record for a women's rugby match dates back to the last World Cup. The New Zealand/England final last November brought together 42,579 spectators at Eden Park.