Coach Fabien Galthié has named a side blended with youth and experience for injury-hit France’s clash with Fiji in Lyon on Saturday.
Les Bleus open the European leg of their Nations Championship campaign without a significant number of key men – including locks Emmanuel Meafou and Thibaud Flament, flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert, centre Fabien Brau-Boirie and fullback Thomas Ramos – but still boast some firepower.
Scrumhalf Antoine Dupont captains the side alongside flyhalf Romain Ntamack, while Théo Attissogbe is flanked in the back three by Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang and Louis Bielle-Biarrey, the two-time reigning Six Nations Player of the Tournament.
Kalvin Gourgues earns his first start for Les Bleus in midfield, having come off the bench on four occasions. The 21-year-old is paired with Yoram Moefana, who wore the No 12 jersey in all three July Tests.
Scrumhalf Maxime Lucu and centre Émilien Gailleton are the only backs on a 6-2 bench.
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Up front, 45-cap Jean-Baptiste Gros starts at loosehead prop with Sipili Falatea pulling on the No 3 jersey for the first time since July 2021. Maxime Lamothe starts at hooker ahead of Peato Mauvaka, with tighthead prop Régis Montagne, who is returning from injury, on the bench.
Florian Verhaeghe and Mickaël Guillard team up at lock in the absence of Meafou and Flament. François Cros makes a rare appearance in the No 8 jersey, with Paul Boudehent at openside flank and Cameron Woki at blindside.
Loose forward Esteban Capilla is set to make his Test debut off the bench.
France, who are top of the northern hemisphere standings, also host the Springboks and Argentina at the Stade de France in Paris this month.
FRANCE – 15 Théo Attissogbe, 14 Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, 13 Kalvin Gourgues, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 François Cros, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Cameron Woki, 5 Mickaël Guillard, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Sipili Falatea, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Bench: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Jefferson Poirot, 18 Régis Montagne, 19 Charles Ollivon, 20 Tom Staniforth, 21 Esteban Capilla, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Émilien Gailleton.
Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images
The post France pick ‘survivors’ before Boks arrive appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Coach Fabien Galthié has named a side blended with youth and experience for injury-hit France’s clash with Fiji in Lyon on Saturday.
The post France pick ‘survivors’ before Boks arrive appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
