Rugger Girls: Part 15. Take-over.

1980s: THE CASE OF THE ARCHIVES

Fifteenth chapter of the summary of the history of women's rugby in France, from the book "Rugger Girls"("Des Filles en Ovalie"), written by Jacques B. Corti and Yaneth Pinilla Foreword by Serge Betsen. Published weekly(ish) by French women's rugby blog Des Filles en Ovalie.

As the Presidency of the AFRF was in Tulle, the FFR mandated Marc Gosse, then Chairman of the Limousin, and Vice President of the FFR to complete the integration process. "My role was to transfer all of the assets of their association to the FFR", he says today. "It was a difficult year. I had get through it all".

Marc Gosse had to work with Nadine Leterre, as well as Tulliste, Deputy Secretary of the AFRF, to succeed. The latter is today sparing with his comments on this episode. Fifteen years later, he sums it up in a sentence: "It can be better to be in a small home on your own than a great house with many others."

Claude Izoard's summary is equally terse, but equally clear: "In 1990 the FFR threw us out. AFRF's leaders were not invited to join."

If it was possible to guess what effect this transition might have on this small house, another aspect is more unexpected. Viviane Bérodier provided a first element: "As Secretary of the FFRF I took a weekend bringing all the archives available to Brive". Second element. The Declaration of Marc Gosse: "Nothing was given. I did not see anything. Zilch."

Since there were now no archives to deal with, they could at least conclude with the merger itself.

Marc Gosse summarizes his feelings at the end: "I had great difficulty with this process. There were many problems. Men occupied all the seats on the FFR. It implemented a national championship. It appointed technical staff." And Nadine Leterre: "They put their people in the positions."

The first consequence, according to Marie-Céline Bernard: "The FFR appointed people who did not know the women's game many levels of contacts were lost. Some of us were retained. But in general we were drowned, isolated. Nobody knew where to go."

Claude Izoard today takes a nostalgic view of this: "We led the fight to get the girls back into the FFR, even if everyone in the Fed did not always agree. Then they put their structure."

During this disruptive period, René Layral, Chairman of Lyonnais, became President of the National Women's Committee.

Extract from the book "Des Filles en Ovalie", Editions Atlantica (2005), Written by Jacques B. Corti / Yaneth Pinilla Foreword by Serge Betsen.

NEXT: 1990s: TRANSITION? WHAT TRANSITION?