Carla Neisen: A pioneer in women’s rugby and star of “Athletes to Watch - Paris 2024” - Stream now for free
France’s Carla Neisen is a pioneer in women’s rugby.
Hailing from a family obsessed with the sport, she didn't take long to pick up the oval ball.
“We share the same passion: Rugby. This brings us together. We are a rugby-orientated family,” Neisen said in Olympic Channel’s newest original documentary: Athletes to Watch - Paris 2024.
“I am 100 percent about rugby. I love the spirit and the values of the game.”
Growing up in Limeuil, a charming village in the Dordogne region, it wasn’t long before she started playing for nearby RC Buguois at Stade Renaud Cruveiller.
The then-eight-year-old was alone as the only female on the team, and there were no female professionals to look up to. But that wasn’t going to stop the prodigy from making her mark on the pitch.
“Carla was one of the first women in the rugby association,” her first coach, Thierry Rouchy, said.
“The boys couldn't play without her because she was outstanding. She improved and led the game and the team.”
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Neisen played with fire and passion, and always looked to make a difference.
Playing with boys, including her brother Anderson, expedited her progress as a playmaker with an exceptional ability to read the game.
After a successful tryout in Toulouse, she accepted a place at Lycee Jolimont - a specialist sports high school.
By the age of 18, the rugby prodigy was taking part in training camps with French national age group teams at 15s and 7s.
Carla Neisen of France runs with the ball during the 2023 Sydney Sevens match between New Zealand and France at Allianz Stadium on January 27, 2023.
Carla Neison helped France to World Cup silver
Meanwhile, the senior women’s team suffered a disappointing quarter-final exit to Canada at rugby sevens Olympic debut at Rio 2016.
The team needed rebuilding and some fresh new talent to turn things around.
After being highlighted as a player that could help achieve this, Neisen accepted a contract to play for the team later that year.
The move was inspired.
At the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco, France demonstrated their transformation with a stunning last-minute victory over Olympic champions Australia in the semi-finals, before losing to an excellent New Zealand side in the final.
“We still managed to bring home a silver medal. It was our first medal at the finals. Our goal was to get better and better,” Neisen said.
A bigger test lay in wait at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in 2021, and Neisen was up to the challenge.
Now a key figure in the team, she scored a try against Canada as the team went unbeaten in the group stages.
After beating the People’s Republic of China and Great Britain in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, France went down once more to New Zealand in the final.
“I think that when you have the opportunity to participate in the Olympic Games, it’s an absolute dream,” Neisen said of the experience.
“We were frustrated (afterwards). We had wanted to win.
“But in the end, we still had a silver medal. We were delighted and proud to have made it this far, even if we would have liked to win.
“There are ups and downs because in a team environment, there are also moments when things don’t go well.”
The objective: to win gold at Paris 2024
After helping France win another major medal - a bronze - at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens, Neisen was given the honour of becoming the national team’s captain in 2023.
Under her leadership the team has continued to flourish and sits third in the 2023/24 World Rugby Sevens Series, also known as SVNS, having sealed two silvers and a bronze so far.
These consistent results, combined with the energy the team will look to tap into at a home Olympic Games, means only one result will do for Neisen at Paris 2024.
“The objective is quite clear: To get the gold medal,” she said.
“We train every day together. We spend all week and even our weekends together. So we know each other very well. The mood on the team is great.
“I’ve never played at the Stade de France. It will be something beautiful. A great atmosphere, something extraordinary.
“It’s always about going for the gold medal. So we’re determined, really, and we can’t wait for it to happen.”
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.