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Four female rugby players from Saint Barthélemy were selected by coach Audrey Galthié (JSB1656) to travel to French Guiana with the Guadeloupe national team and try to bring home the wooden shield, the iconic trophy of the Antilles-Guyana Tournament (TAG): Elise Howard, Celyne Galibert, Marine Cantatore, and Alice Gatelier.
Bolstered by this “Rascassian” presence, the Guadeloupean team could harbor ambitions in a three-way competition where the Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes team had joined the three Antilles-Guyana delegations on a friendly basis. But an almost unspoken rule seems to have prevailed in the women’s TAG in recent years. Indeed, the team hosting the competition in its region wins. This has been a proven fact for several years now. Two years ago, Guadeloupe hosted the Women’s 7-a-side TAG, and its team became the Antilles-Guyana champion. The same scenario played out last year, when Martinique, the competition’s organizing committee, saw its team win the TAG. This 2026 edition was no exception to the rule, with the Guyanese team winning on home turf. Yet it was a close call. In fact, only three points separated the Guadeloupe and Guyana teams at the final whistle, with a score of 17–14 in favor of the host team. The Guadeloupean women did almost everything right during this TAG. With a long-standing desire for revenge against the Martinique team, they easily defeated the players from their sister island in their opening match. Then, in the second match that decided the finalists, the Gwada Girls—Rascasses included—showed off their talent to defeat the French Guiana team, 17–10. That gave them the confidence they needed for the final against that same French Guiana team, which had already qualified.
Same opponent, but not the same match
Every match has its own story, and in a short-format tournament, the second matchup ultimately went in favor of French Guiana, perhaps in better form toward the end of the tournament. Rascasse’s Celyne Galibert best sums up this narrowly lost final: “It was a very intense final against French Guiana, fueled by a home crowd that clearly gave them an extra boost of energy throughout the match. On our side, there are positives to take away, particularly regarding commitment, but also areas for improvement. Three missed tackles proved costly and shifted the momentum at key moments of the match. Physically, the opponent proved more athletic and robust, which made the difference in the physicality and handling of one-on-one battles. Despite everything, the match was decided by the narrowest of margins. With just 30 more seconds, the outcome could have been different… victory was truly within reach. A frustrating but instructive match, which shows that with more discipline and efficiency in decisive moments, the team clearly has the caliber to make a difference.” Or how to leverage the experience gained by the team to best prepare for the 2027 TAG, which will be held… in Guadeloupe. But beyond the sporting result, Elise Howard, another Rascasse selected for the squad, recalls the powerful human moments the group experienced: “We gave it our all, but in 7s rugby, you pay for your mistakes immediately. Individually, we all had our ups and downs on the field, but off the field, in the group dynamic, life together over the weekend was exceptional. We showed a lot of unity, through thick and thin, so that after a few days, it wasn’t just a squad anymore—it was a team. We didn’t want to let go at the end of the tournament; we wanted to stay together and share even more amazing moments!” According to the players, this exclamation became the Guadeloupe team’s catchphrase throughout the weekend. We all hope to hear it again next year in Guadeloupe, when the women’s rugby sevens team lifts the TAG 2027 championship trophy.
