Élite 1: a restart without Les Bleues, touring New Zealand

A look at the 2026-27 AXA Élite 1 season and its opening round, this Sunday 25 October.

Élite 1 clubs restart without their internationals: the France women’s XV is in New Zealand, where it plays the final test of its tour against the Black Ferns on 31 October in Christchurch. From this Sunday, round 1 pits the two best teams of last season’s regular season against each other straight away, Stade Toulousain and ASM Romagnat, at Ernest-Wallon. Reigning champions Stade Bordelais open their bid for a fifth straight title against Grenoble.

Bordeaux, champions since 2023

The Lionnes have won the last four shields, the latest in June in Biarritz against Romagnat (22-10). Yet they started from behind: third in the regular season with fourteen wins and four defeats, they went on to win their semi-final in Toulouse (27-25). The club changed manager this summer with the arrival of Yannick Vignette, who starts without his fifteen internationals. “The Lionnes are studied, dissected, it is up to us to keep creating uncertainty and surprise,” he told Sud Ouest.

Toulouse and Romagnat, the clash right from the opener

Toulouse and Romagnat finished the regular season with the same record: sixteen wins, one draw and one defeat. The Auvergnates’ only defeat came against the Toulousaines, who won 23-17 at Romagnat on 1 February, before a 27-27 draw in June at Ernest-Wallon. Stade Toulousain, for their part, had only lost in Bordeaux (34-29). Finalists in 2024 and in 2026, Romagnat still rely on their hooker and captain Mathilde Lazarko, last season’s top try scorer with 14 tries. On the other side, “we will be short-handed,” admits Toulouse coach Olivier Marin in La Dépêche, between rested internationals and long-term injuries.

La Rochelle discover the top flight

Élite 2 champions, the Rochelaises are playing the first season of their history in Élite 1, taking the place of Lille, who finished bottom last season with two wins. Their opener against Lyon, eighth last year, is played as a curtain-raiser to the Top 14 match between Stade Rochelais and UBB, at Marcel-Deflandre, live on Canal+ Sport. Blagnac, fourth and semi-finalists, approach the campaign in rebuilding mode: “We have to expect a very hard season,” warns their manager Éric Escribano in La Dépêche. Sixth in 2025-26, Bobigny have signed Amandine Buchard, a four-time Olympic judo medallist, who played last season for Stade Français in Élite 2. She discovers Élite 1 at Toulon.

The ten teams form a single pool of 18 rounds, with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals.

Round 1 fixtures