Manon Bigot
{{Short description|French rugby union player (born 1990)}}{{Infobox rugby biography|image=File:Manon Bigot.jpg|height=170 cm|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1990|06|06|df=y}}|ru_position=Hooker}}
Manon Bigot (born 6 June 1990), is a French rugby union player who plays as a hooker for {{ill|Blagnac Rugby Women|fr|Blagnac Rugby féminin}} and the French national team.
Biography
= Early life =
Manon Bigot was born on 6 June 1990.{{cite web |title=Manon Bigot |url=https://www.equipe-france.fr/rugby/manon-bigot |website=www.equipe-france.fr |access-date=21 April 2025 |language=fr}} She did not start playing rugby until she was 23.{{cite web |last1=Alary |first1=Philippe |title=Manon Bigot a de la suite dans les idées |url=https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2017/04/13/2555531-manon-bigot-a-de-la-suite-dans-les-idees.html |website=ladepeche.fr |access-date=21 April 2025 |language=fr |date=13 April 2017 |trans-title=Manon Bigot has a head for ideas}}
Originally from Vallières-les-Grandes, in the Loir-et-Cher region, Bigot discovered rugby as a child, watching her father play in Loches. Despite her early interest in the sport, she was unable to find a women's structure in her region. She briefly played with boys at the Pocé-sur-Cisse club, but the section soon closed. She then turned to handball in high school, in the sports section at Vendôme, and played pivot for the Selles-sur-Cher club.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-10 |title=Tournoi des 6 nations : Manon Bigot, du Loir-et-Cher au XV de France |url=https://www.lanouvellerepublique.fr/loir-et-cher/commune/montrichard-val-de-cher/tournoi-des-6-nations-manon-bigot-du-loir-et-cher-au-xv-de-france-1744303880 |archive-url=https://archive.is/nPbyY#selection-535.0-823.100 |archive-date=2025-04-22 |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=lanouvellerepublique.fr |language=fr}}
Before taking up rugby, she served in the French Army as part of the 27th Mountain Infantry Battalion based in Annecy.{{Cite web |title=Blagnac Rugby Féminin : Manon Bigot, c’est marche ou rêve |url=https://www.ladepeche.fr/2024/12/19/blagnac-rugby-feminin-manon-bigot-cest-marche-ou-reve-12400350.php |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=ladepeche.fr |language=fr}}
= Club career =
Bigot joined Blagnac in 2013. She played with the club until 2018, when she took a five-year hiatus to pursue her dream of becoming a professional firefighter. In 2023, she returned to Blagnac.{{cite web |title=MANON BIGOT |url=https://competitions.ffr.fr/clubs/blagnac-sporting-club-rugby/competitions/elite-1-feminine/joueurs/447748 |website=Compétitions - FFR |access-date=21 April 2025 |language=fr}}{{cite web |last1=Failler |first1=Tristan |title=Drouin de retour... La liste du XV de France féminin pour le Tournoi |url=https://www.rugbyrama.fr/2024/03/07/6-nations-feminin-caroline-drouin-de-retour-la-liste-du-xv-de-france-feminin-pour-le-tournoi-11810858.php |website=rugbyrama.fr |access-date=21 April 2025 |language=fr |date=7 March 2024 |trans-title=Drouin returns... The list of the French women's team for the Tournament}}
= International career =
In March 2024, having previously earned her first cap in 2016,{{Cite web |title=« Elles ont peu de sélections, mais elles sont importantes en termes d'expérience » : Montserrat Amédée et Manon Bigot, des Bleues pas si bleues |url=https://www.lequipe.fr/Rugby/Actualites/-elles-ont-peu-de-selections-mais-elles-sont-importantes-en-termes-d-experience-montserrat-amedee-et-manon-bigot-des-bleues-pas-si-bleues/1549970 |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=L'Équipe |language=fr}} she made her return to the French national team when she was called up to the 32-player squad preparing for the 2024 Six Nations Tournament.{{cite web |title=XV de France féminin : un seul changement pour affronter l’Ecosse, voici la composition |url=https://www.sudouest.fr/sport/rugby/vi-nations/xv-de-france-feminin-un-seul-changement-pour-affronter-l-ecosse-voici-la-composition-19133774.php |website=SudOuest.fr |access-date=21 April 2025 |language=fr-FR |date=28 March 2024 |trans-title=France women's team: just one change to face Scotland, here's the line-up}} She was again called up to the national team for the 2025 Six Nations.{{cite web |title=XV de France féminin : Le groupe pour le Tournoi des Six Nations 2025 |url=https://www.ffr.fr/actualites/xv-de-france-feminin/xv-de-france-feminin-le-groupe-pour-le-tournoi-des-six-nations-2025 |website=French Rugby Federation |access-date=21 April 2025 |language=fr |date=7 March 2025 |trans-title=French women's team: The squad for the 2025 Six Nations Tournament}}{{Cite web |title=Manon Bigot |url=https://www.ffr.fr/equipe-de-france/rugby-a-xv/xv-france-feminin/joueurs/bigot-manon-2 |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=Fédération Française de Rugby |language=fr}}{{Cite web |title=Manon Bigot, la caution combat des Bleues |url=https://www.rugbyrama.fr/2025/03/28/6-nations-feminin-pas-un-coup-darret-juste-un-petit-coup-de-frein-manon-bigot-la-caution-combat-des-bleues-revient-a-34-ans-12597627.php |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=rugbyrama.fr |language=fr}}