One More Game documents New Orleans’ first queer and inclusive rugby team, “The Rougaroux”. This series, part of a worldwide initiative created by French Photographer Emilien Buffard, “Sports Friendly,” features players’ personal testimonies about their journeys toward the Rougaroux and how the team was a game changer in their lives. Lenain’s intimate approach highlights the joyful and stimulating environment of the field and invites the players to reflect on their own experience.  

Sports are an arena for public expression of one’s identity and convictions and should serve as a space where people can convene, play, learn and exert themselves. Sports are also nothing more than a mirror of what society produces – like any other field, they remain vulnerable to discrimination against your sexual and gender identities. One More Game documents how a rugby pitch within a safe sports team can generate confidence, community and opportunities for growth. This series of poignant portraits and stories is a powerful reminder of that sentiment. 

This project was commissioned by Jacques Baran and the French Consulate in New Orleans and exhibited in the Garden District during the summer of 2024, in conjonction with the Paris Olympics.