Élite 1 (since 2018, and previously Top 8 from 2015 to 2018) is the top national league for

women's rugby union Women's rugby union is a full contact team sport based on running with the ball in hand. The same laws are used in men's rugby union with the same sized pitch and same equipment. Rugby was originally a men's sport, and women's rugby has become p ...

clubs in France. It was founded from the 1971–1972 season under the aegis of the French Women's Rugby Association before being taken over by the French Women's Rugby Federation, it has been organized by the

French Rugby Federation The French Rugby Federation (french: Fédération Française de Rugby (''FFR'')) is the governing body for rugby union in France. It is responsible for the France national rugby union team, French national team and the National Rugby League (Franc ...

since 1989. The first season was won by the ASVEL Rugby women's side. The championship takes place in two phases: a so-called qualification phase, which is contested by all the teams, and a final phase which is played by direct elimination. From 2015 to 2018, the championship is referred to as the ''Top 8''. In 2018, the championship went from a single pool of 8 clubs to two pools of 16. The 8 best clubs qualified for the final phase. Since the 2018-2019 season, two clubs have been relegated to Elite 2 at the end of the championship. As with men, the most successful club in France is

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

: it is Toulouse Fémina Sports , with 9 French championship titles, in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984 and 1985. Montpellier RC is the second most successful team with eight titles (2007, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 , 2017 , 2018 and 2019). In a recent reform in 2021, the league has seen the number of teams decrease from 16 to 14 and there will only be 12 teams next season. ASM Romagnat won the Élite 1 2020-2021 season.

Teams

Champions

References

External links

Official site
{{Women's rugby union

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

Women's rugby union competitions in France Women's sports leagues in France 1971 establishments in France Sports leagues established in 1971