French second-rower Perrine Monsarrat has taken the first step towards fulfilling her NRLW dream by moving to Sydney to train and play under the watchful eye of Roosters coach John Strange.
Monsarrat was recommended to Strange after last November’s World Cup by the Roosters three-times NRL premiership winning coach Trent Robinson, who is also the FFRXIII director of rugby, and the entire club is supporting her.
The 24-year-old arrived on February 15 and attended the Roosters’ NRL trial against Manly with Robinson before watching her new team-mates play the Sharks in last weekend’s Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership clash at Cronulla.
“Trent Robinson is [involved in] coaching both French teams [men and women], and he came to the World Cup and saw me play,” Monsarrat told pan66.com. “He asked of I was interested in coming to Australia.
“I want to play here because in France the level is not as developed. I want to improve and try to play at the highest level.”
With each NRLW team set to be allowed up to four development players for the 2023 season, Strange will closely monitor Monsarrat’s form with the Central Coast Roosters in coming months to determine her next move.
“She is a good player and obviously she has come over here for an opportunity to develop and improve, and hopefully play NRLW,” Strange said.
“She has got the ability; she is pretty fast, tough and skilful, like most of that French side. Whether it is this year or next year, for her to go through and play NRLW for us would be an awesome story and I think she has the potential to do that.
“We get four development players and there is an option, if she goes well at Harvey Norman level, to put her in as a development player, at the very least, so she can keep learning and developing.”
In the meantime, the Roosters are assisting Monsarrat to get herself set up and find work in Sydney.
Roosters women’s welfare manager Fa’asua Makisi speaks French and has helped Monsarrat in her dealings with banks and other institutions, while the club’s career and education manager Sheridan Hawkins is helping her to find a job.
French team-mate Lauréane Biville, who played for the Warriors in the 2020 NRL Nines in Perth before being forced to return to France after the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic, acted as a translator for Monserrat in online meetings with the Roosters before her arrival.
“The whole club has got behind supporting this growth in the game with international talent,” Hawkins said.
“Trent mentioned to John about Perrine and they worked in collaboration as head coaches. We had been in touch for over a month before she came on board.
“With Trent’s connection to France, and his [French] language skills, he also had a couple of phone conversations with Perrine but then left it to Sua [Makisi] and I to maintain regular contact.
“She is an accountant in France but we are conscious of the language barrier so we thought we would help her get work quickly [in other fields] because she is funding this herself.
“She came into the office and worked alongside me on a spare computer to apply for jobs and the woman who is hosting her in Randwick has had other female players stay before, so she is helping with advice about the local area.
“She seems to be settling in quite well and I know she has said to people how well supported she feels.”
Monsarrat, who said she had been inspired by Biville to play in Australia, is prepared to be patient in striving for her ambition of playing in the NRLW.
“Lauréane is my friend, she plays in my team in France and she came to Australia to play in the NRLW. That is my goal too,” Monsarrat said.
“It is a dream for me, and my family is very happy and supportive of me coming to Australia to follow my dream. I am here for one or two years, I don’t know. It depends how I go.”