French Olympian adds Gallagher High Performance Academy to her impressive CV
Winning France’s Elite One Championship with her club, Stade Bordelais, persuaded Rose Thomas to move into coaching.
As a player, Thomas competed in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She was a regular for France on the international Sevens circuit and helped her Bordeaux-based club win France’s top club competition for women, with victory over Blagnac in the 2022/23 Final.
It was winning the national championship that helped Thomas with her decision to transfer from playing into coaching. She has taken her first steps as an assistant coach, taking on the responsibility for the backs at Stade Bordelais.
“I realised that I wanted to be a coach after we won the French Championship title. I wanted to share my experience differently to that as a team-mate,” Thomas told World Rugby.
Thomas has now had the opportunity to hone those communication skills and develop new ones through her participation in the Gallagher High Performance Academy.
“Through the Gallagher High Performance Academy we addressed different points, such as knowing our strengths and our qualities, understanding how to organize sessions, thinking about our training compositions, our communication. Points that may seem simple, but when we don't address them in a specific way, we don't realize the impact they can have on our collective coaching,” she said.
“I found it interesting, it was the opportunity to meet with other profiles that were former players, or not within an environment where we would approach the different aspects of coaching.
“This programme will help women to position themselves with more assurance; equipping them key skills and helping them to find their coaching mind-set.”
During Thomas’s involvement in the programme she received guidance from her mentor, whose own coaching mind-set has been shaped by working with David Courteix, who guided France to the 2016 Olympics and a silver medal four years later in Tokyo.
“I think he has been able to adapt his coaching to suit a new generation of players, which is why he is still on the circuit after more than 10 years,” she said.
“In terms of leadership, the training helped us to gain confidence in ourselves as women - in this environment where there are very few of us - and to share our experiences with others, whether they are former players or a current coach.”