Sarah Jilani

At the time, I thought women were not allowed to play rugby.

I remember my first time there because I was turning 12 the next day and they didn't want me because I was only 12.

I was too young.

My mom asked them to let me train anyway to give it a try to see if I liked it or not.

After that go, they told me, we're keeping you.

Never mind the age, we'll adapt.

So Nathalie was playing rugby at the age of 12 in two teams, one with Narbonne women and the other with boys in her village.

And she loved it.

She was allowed to do things she wouldn't normally get away with.

I rarely stayed on the ground.

In 1986, after just a few years playing rugby, Nathalie was selected to play for the French women's national team and travel abroad.

She was still just a teenager.

The year before, they'd refused me because of my age.

So being able to do them after, I didn't really know where it was taking me.

At the time, Natalie says women's rugby was definitely not taken very seriously.

After her young start, playing internationally aged just 15, Nathalie became an integral part of the France team for more than a decade, winning the five nations once and the European Championships four times.

I played all positions a bit, come to think of it.

At the end of my career, I enjoyed being the centre or eighth.

We managed the game, we managed the ball.

When you have a bit of experience, you master that a bit better than when you're young.