Jack Willis and Louis Bielle-Biarrey headline French rugby awards
Jack Willis (right) and Louis Bielle-Biarrey (left) were the headline winners at the French rugby awards
Toulouse and former England star Jack Willis has been named Top 14 Player of the Year for the second season in a row.
He faced strong competition for the award, though, with Matthieu Jalibert and Harry Plummer also on the three-man shortlist, but Willis once again came out with the trophy.
The gong was the headline award at France’s Nuit du Rugby, the annual LNR awards.
Jack Willis and Louis Bielle-Biarrey headline French rugby awards
Willis was a mainstay for Les Rouge et Noir in the 2025/26 season, making 23 appearances and scoring six tries on the way to the club’s fourth successive league title, and was also named Player of the Match in their win over Montpellier in the final. He also captained the side on several occasions.
As a result, the 29-year-old flanker now matches club-mate Antoine Dupont in winning the award in consecutive seasons, with the France captain winning it back-to-back in 2023 and 2024, and is just the second English player to ever win the award after Zach Mercer in 2022.
The Englishman was not the only big-name winner at the ceremony, either. France and Bordeaux-Bègles superstar Louis Bielle-Biarrey was named France Men’s Player of the Year following his exploits in their Six Nations title win earlier this year and the November Tests back in 2025, while fellow Les Bleus ace and Pau back Fabien Brau-Boirie was named as Young Player of the Year.
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Bielle-Biarrey fended off competition from the aforementioned Jalibert and Thomas Ramos for his award, while Brau-Boirie beat Auguste Cadot and Kalvin Gourgues.
Elsewhere in the men’s awards, Provence ace Setareki Bituniyata was named Pro D2 Player of the Season, Montpellier and Vannes won Top 14 and Pro D2 coaching staff of the season, respectively, and Emilien Gailleton won Try of the Year.
Léa Champon was named France Women’s Player of the Year after a strong Test season, beating Pauline Barrat and Mathilde Lazarko to the award in the process.
But Lazarko did not leave the ceremony empty-handed, after winning Elite 1 Player of the Year.
