International 7s since 2018, Joanna Grisez has a fairly atypical background, which did not predestine her for this practice. Tenniswomen until very late, she swapped the small yellow ball for the oval ball. Revengeful for her Olympic Games, the Stade Bordeaux winger is one of the players to follow in the blue squad.
Sometimes, discovering a vocation can be a miracle. It can also mature through the choices we choose to make. Joanna Grisez was able to seize the opportunity offered to her during her studies. Born on October 5, 1996 in Colombes, this fiery winger fell in love with rugby late in life. Student of Paris V, these studies will be a turning point in his sporting vocation. A tennis player during her younger years, she entered Staps with this label, which she quickly swapped for a discipline less stingy with contact. It starts with the Bobigny team, “Her favorite club” according to the person concerned.
Versatility between 7 and XV
The French international quickly made a place for herself in the sevens squad. Called up in 2018 at the age of 21 and especially with barely two years of practice, she impressed with her precocity. Demonstrating her qualities of speed and explosiveness, this dynamic winger excels both in sevens and in XV. She made her return to the XV of France last April, two years after her last selection. Grisez even signed her reintegration into the Blue with a nice double against Wales. She has also signed for Stade Bordelais in 2023, in order to give new impetus to her career. “The idea was still to sign last year to get a foot in the door at the club, meet the girls, integrate the game project, just to gain time next season and apply for the French XV in 2024-2025 if the Federation decides to extend my contract,” she mentioned in our columns at the end of April. Accustomed to fantastic rides on the septistes group, Joanna Grisez has the ambition to settle permanently on the wing of Gaelle Mignot and David Ortiz’s squad, with the 2025 World Cup in England in particular in her sights.
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An unwavering commitment
A member of the Hope association, she encourages sporting discipline among schoolchildren in priority education or those with disabilities. An example of his daily commitment, also perceptible when we talk about the feminist question. “It’s an issue that needs to be worked on. It’s a bit annoying to see that the media coverage of women in sport still depends on their physique. […] I want to believe that one day we will be able to get out of this thing where we have to attract people to women’s sport through physicality.” she proclaimed during her recent interview in our columns. With her partners, she hopes to get people talking about women’s sport through performances.
Tokyo, a bitter taste
She has a bitter first memory of her relationship with the Olympic Games. Touched, the Bordeaux player withdraws a few weeks before the start of the competition in Japan. “The disappointment is immense. The Olympic dream will not be for this year, after three months of battle against a muscle injury. My body will have had the last word. We must now accept and move on to the next chapter”, she said on social networks to announce her non-participation in the Tokyo Olympics. She must see her teammates win a silver medal in the stands, the first national achievement in the discipline. “After thinking about it, I decided not to go with the group because I didn’t feel I was capable of playing in a tournament. So I went to Tokyo, but I didn’t play in the Games.“, she expressed two months ago, looking back on this event. Revengeful as ever, the Bordelaise will undoubtedly give the best of herself to obtain this charm which eluded her three years previously.
