Lons Section Paloise

Lons Section Paloise are a French women's rugby union club, based in Lons. They compete in the Élite 2 competition, which is the second division of women's rugby in France.

Lons women's rugby Béarn Pyrénées joined the Section Paloise omnisports club in 2021 to become Lons Section Paloise women's rugby. The club comprises two senior teams, the first playing in Élite 2 and the second in Fédérale 1. They also have two U16 girls' teams and one U14 girls' team making up the club's youth program. The club shares its history and facilities with the Lons Rugby Club.

The club was established in 1996.^[1] In 2006, the team won their first championship title in Division 2. They also created a second women's team that year which competed in the Division 3 National competition.^[1]

In 2007, the first team secured their second French championship title in Division 1. The second team reached the quarter-finals of the Division 3 championship that year.

In 2008, the first team reached the semi-finals of the Top 9, the elite competition of French women's rugby. The second team made a second quarter-final appearance in their Division 3 championship. The club also created a junior girls' team in 2008.^[1]

In June 2010, the women's second team, after four final phases, obtained their first Division 3 12-a-side championship title by beating the second team of Lille Métropole in Issoudun.

Following the relegation of the women's team in Élite 2 Armelle-Auclair in 2014, several key players left the club, Caroline Ladagnous, Pauline Raymond, Christelle Chobet, Mélanie Busque, and Méryl Dubertrand.

Starting from the 2015–2016 season, the women's section of RC Lons became "Lons Rugby féminin Béarn Pyrénées" following the merger with Section Paloise.^[2] After formalizing its independence from the Rugby Club Lonsois in 2015, the club sought to structure itself and gain visibility, and moved towards closer ties with the amateur Section Paloise. However, the club retained its facilities at the Georges-Martin complex in Lons.

In 2018, following the reorganization of the women's divisions and the expansion of the 1st division from 8 to 16 clubs, Lons women's rugby joined Elite 1. During the 2019–2020 Elite 1 season, Canadian international Elisabeth Langevin, suffered a spinal fracture on 12 January 2020 against Chilly-Mazarin, the injury ended her career.^[3]

At the start of the 2021–2022 Women's Elite 1 season, the club joined the Section Paloise multi-sports club, "Lons Rugby Féminin Béarn Pyrénées", and was renamed "Lons Section Paloise Rugby Féminin." In 2021, the club signed four Canadian players, Laetitia Royer, Sarah-Maude Lachance, Audrey Champagne and Emmanuella Jada.^[4] The club also signed Japanese captain, Makiko Tomita, she was the first Japanese player to join a French club.^[5]

At the end of the 2023–2024 season, the first team was relegated to Elite 2 after losing its two play-down matches against Bobigny.^[6] Despite its relegation to Elite 2, Lons Section Paloise Béarn Pyrénées has taken strategic steps to return to the top level by appointing Michaël Dallery as head coach of its first team. He served as scrum coach for the Portuguese men's national team at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and as performance director for the Romanian national team; he assumed the responsibilities of sporting director and forwards coach, thus bringing his considerable expertise and experience to the club.^[7]

In September 2025, former French international Lise Arricastre was unanimously elected president of the club, succeeding Jean-François Lombard, who had been in office for twelve years.^[8]

2025–26 Élite 2 season squad:^[9]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

• Senior 15s internationally capped players are listed in bold.

• Élite 1:
  • Champion: 2012
• Élite 2:
  • Champion: 2007
  • Runner-up: 2018
• Fédérale 1:
  • Champion: 2006
• 3rd Division:
  • Champion: 2010
• Elite Sevens:
  • Champion: 2011