France star Laureane Biville to remain a Wigan player for 2023
Laureane Biville confirmed she will return to Wigan Warriors next season and has urged her French teammates to seek playing opportunities away from France.
The 23-year-old featured for her nation in all three of their World Cup defeats against New Zealand, Australia and, most recently, the Cook Islands.
Biville, who joined Wigan Warriors last summer, believes French players could gain valuable experience in either the English Women’s Super League or the Australian NRLW.
“I had the chance to play with Wigan this summer,” Biville told the media following Thursday’s defeat to the Cooks. “Obviously, it’s a different level then in France. I think young athletes really need to do the same because we need to grow as athletes and we need to be at a higher level.
“If the little girls and little players can just – not for a long time but maybe for a season or two, or the summer – go to play in the Super League or even in Australia, that would be a plus for us because they will come with more skills and more experience and just see what we do. It’s really important for us in France to grow the level.”
When asked whether she plans to stay in the Women’s Super League next season, Biville said: “Yes. I will come back next year with Wigan.”
Three years left to improve
The French women’s team haven’t won a World Cup fixture since a seventh-placed play-off back in 2008 against Tonga.
The side now have three years remaining before they host the 2025 World Cup. Despite the short turnaround, Biville is confident that the painful experience in England will set the team in good stead for the 2025 event.
She said: “This World Cup was a very special one for us because we have old players, like our captain, that are leaving and will retire. We have lots of young players in the French team. They’re just getting experience at this World Cup.
“I think even if we were in the pool of death, they saw what we have to work on. We now have three years to work really hard, to continue this team to grow and welcome new players.
“I think we now have a base, we just need to keep going. It was a good thing for us to play against the best players in the world. We know we can play against them. We survived and nobody believed in us.
“After the World Cup, the coach and the staff will discuss but I think we did pretty well. We now have the base to continue and keep going for the next one. I’m pretty excited about that.”
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