Stade Bordelais lock Price warns four-in-a-row title bid faces toughest test yet at Toulouse

Canadian lock Taylor Price has urged Stade Bordelais to be at their absolute best if the defending AXA Elite 1 champions are to reach a fourth consecutive French women’s final, with a semi-final trip to Stade Ernest Wallon to face Toulouse standing between them and history.

“We’ve been building for this semi-final for a while,” Price told RugbyPass. “I think our last game we played against Toulouse was a bit of a reference match of what we can do, and we’ve just been building from that.”

Stade Bordelais hold a significant psychological edge over their hosts, having beaten Toulouse 34-29 at Stade Sainte-Germaine in March — the only defeat Toulouse have suffered all season. Yet Price, who plays in the second row and back row, is wary of reading too much into that result on the road.

“It’s going to be tough playing in Toulouse — it’s always hard,” she said. “Our forwards are going to have to really win those battles in the set piece like the scrum and the lineout and just keep possession. Our set piece will definitely be a key point for us.”

The winners will face either Elite 1 table-toppers ASM Romagnat or Blagnac in the final, with that second semi-final taking place in Biarritz on Sunday 29 June. Romagnat, whose only loss this season came at home to Toulouse, are widely expected to advance.

Price, who joined Stade Bordelais last summer after helping Toulon win the Elite 2 title and earn promotion, admitted that the chance to work under then-head coach François Ratier was central to her decision to move from the Mediterranean coast to Bordeaux. Ratier has since departed to take charge of the France women’s national side.

“I was definitely keen to come work with François just because of his history working with the Canadian team — and he’s a great coach in general,” she said. “Obviously I’m super excited for him to have the opportunity to coach France, but I was a little sad to see him go.”

Despite losing their title-winning coach in December, Price insists the club’s foundations have remained solid. “I don’t think within our systems and structure that much has really changed. He set a pretty good foundation and for the rest of the season, we didn’t need to bring a new head coach in to take over.”

Stade Bordelais began their campaign with back-to-back defeats against Romagnat and Blagnac — the only two sides to finish the regular season above them — before finding their stride. For Price, the entire journey to this point has felt like a natural fit.

“This was totally meant to be,” she said of her move to France. With a fourth straight title within reach, Bordelais will need to prove it on Sunday.