| Date of birth | 26 November 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Joué-lès-Tours, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Élisa Riffonneau (born 26 November 2003) is a French international rugby union player who plays as a hooker.
Originally from Joué-lès-Tours (Indre-et-Loire), [2] Riffonneau started playing rugby at the age of 6 with US Joué. [3] [4] She briefly switched to handball, which she played for five years, before returning to rugby after missing selection for the Pôle Espoirs in Orléans. [5] Feeling more comfortable in rugby, she decided to pursue it seriously. [5]
Riffonneau attended Joliot-Curie High School, then Chateaubriand High School in Rennes, graduating with the highest honors. [6] Thanks to her status as a high-level athlete, she was admitted to Sciences Po Rennes, where she benefits from an adapted program allowing her to combine her studies and rugby career. [6]
After playing for Stade Rennais Rugby from 2018 to 2023, [3] [7] Riffonneau joined the Ealing Trailfinders Women in England for the 2023–2024 season. [8] [9] She was the only French international competing in the English league that season. [5]
In 2024, Riffonneau returned to France and signed with the FC Grenoble Amazones. [10]
Riffonneau signed a professional contract with the French Rugby Federation in 2023. [11]
Riffonneau made her debut for the France women's national team in April 2023 during the Women's Six Nations Championship against Ireland. [12] Later that year, she participated in the inaugural WXV tournament in New Zealand, [5] where she scored her first international try against Australia. [13]
In 2024, Riffonneau was again selected for the Women's Six Nations Championship, playing in four matches [12] and scoring one try. [14] She was selected in the 2024 WXV tournament. [15]
In 2025, Riffonneau was selected for the Women's Six Nations Championship. [16] She played 4 out of 5 matches. [12] On 2 August 2025, she was named in the French side to the Women's Rugby World Cup in England. [17] [18]