Ambitious French forward Leila Bessahli is eyeing an opportunity to play in the NRLW as France begin preparations for IRL Rugby League World Cup 2026 under new coach Alan Walsh.

A ball playing lock or prop, Bessahli is a key member of the Catalans team which includes Warriors duo Tyra Wetere and Felila Kia and Eels recruit Jayde Herdegen and she wants to join them in the NRLW after France’s Elite 1 Feminine competition concludes.

Sydney-based NRL accredited agent Pierre Vandôme, who is assisting the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII ahead of RLWC2026, is also trying to help find Bessahli a club in Australia.

“It is a dream of mine to play in the NRLW. The NRLW is the top competition in rugby,” Bessahli said. “If I get the chance to play in the NRLW it would also be very good preparation for the World Cup.”

The NRLW is widely regarded as the best female contact sporting competition in the world and Bessahli said she and other French players regularly watched games.

“Everybody knows about the NRLW,” she said. “I watch it on TV or sometimes I watch it in the bar with other players in the team. For a lot of women playing rugby it is the top rugby competition

“There are three players from the NRLW in the Catalans team and it is good to have those women play for the team because we sget to see a different way to play rugby.”

Bessahli has been playing rugby league and rugby union since she was five-years-of-age, and is a dual international – having represented Algeria in rugby sevens qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

She also had a stint with York in the Women's Super League, helping the Valkyrie to win the 2022 League Leaders Shield.

Photo: Leila Bessahli in action for York Valkyrie ahead of RLWC2021 @SWPix

After making her international rugby league debut in 2017, Bessahli has been a regular member of the French team and played at the last World Cup in England in 2022.

She is looking forward to RLWC2026, with France playing matches in each of the three host nations - Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

Their campaign begins at Santos National Football Stadium against the PNG Orchids on October 17 followed by a clash with the Kiwi Ferns at Christchurch’s One New Zealand Stadium on October 25 and Fiji Bulikula at Cbus Super Stadium on October 31.

Walsh, who has lived in France since 1999, was appointed coach in January and will oversee a World Cup training camp this weekend.

“France is getting stronger and we are working very hard,” Bessahli said. “We have a new coach (Walsh) and this weekend is the first meeting of the French team with the new coach. It is going to be a hard weekend of training.”

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