Trained in Millau, Maïlys Dhia Traoré is the most capped player in the history of Stade Toulousain. She has just passed the symbolic bar of 100 matches under the red and black tunic.
Spending 100 matches under the colors of Stade Toulousain e, n women’s rugby is nothing trivial. The barrier is symbolic but represents a lot for Millavoise Maïlys Dhia Traoré: she is the only one in the club’s history to have crossed it. It was impossible, eleven years ago, to think that it would come to this.
“A beautiful journey”
“When I left Millau, I had to play at Fonsorbes, the Stade Toulouse did not yet exist,” she remembers. “I just had to play in the Toulouse countryside and then we became the Stade. I remember that we were in the spotlight in 2015 during a boys’ match, there were tifos and messages for us in the stands.”
So, obviously, the 100th match was a special moment. “We haven’t been counting down the matches for long,” she reveals. “I took it like any other match but looking back, I say to myself that it’s really a great journey to have stayed at a high level for so long at a very ambitious club.”
Nine years at a high level
Nine years have passed and the women’s section now fully has its place in this institution of French rugby. There is no shortage of memories for the Millavoise who is now a member of the group. “Wow… There are quite a few! I remember in particular the very first match in Top 8 (the old first division, Editor’s note) in Millau and also against Montpellier. They were reigning French champions and we promoted them, we had won, at home, it was incredible!”
A French champion title in 2022
To exist in this winning machine, we had to bring back titles. “It wasn’t a burden, on the contrary. In his speech, the staff told us that the Men’s Stadium had its history and a past which is sometimes heavy to carry while we had everything to create. In 2022, we told us that if we wanted to make history, it was up to us to do our bit.”
The players responded, since they gleaned their first title as French champions in Elite 1, the highest level. “After eight years at the highest level, the first title is amazing! We fought several seasons to reach the finals, we were always in the last four, we had a very close-knit group with a lot of young people.”
This season, with Eve Cartaillac, another Millavoise with the Rouge et Noir, she will try to win a second title with the Stade. “It’s always our goal at the start of the season,” she smiles. “We only exist in this club if we win. For some it may seem too ambitious but we often talk about bringing back the title.”
