A new captain. Temporary. Notable absentees. New faces… Fabien Galthié, the new coach of the French rugby team, unveiled on Wednesday January 8 the extended list of the 42 players he has selected for the Six Nations Tournament which will begin on February 2 with a match against England.
At the forefront of the choices made by the new boss of the XV tricolor is Charles Ollivon: at 26, the Toulon player is given the captain's armband for the duration of the Tournament. He succeeds Guilhem Guirado.
The “Galthié leg” is also already noticeable in the beginning of renewal, as evidenced by this list: the thirty-something Yoann Huget, Maxime Médard, Rabah Slimani and Wenceslas Lauret, all present in the fall of 2019 in Japan for a World Cup completed on a defeat in quarter-finals against Wales, were thus not retained.
Conversely, these are nineteen players, in their twenties, who appear for the first time among the "nominees" in Blue. Among them, we find in particular the opening half Louis Carbonel, or his teammate in Toulon, the pillar Jean-Baptiste Gros, world champion with the under 20s.
Over 90 players met
At the end of 2019, the French Rugby Federation and the representatives of the clubs had found common ground (financial) to satisfy Fabrien Galthié's request to go from 31 preselected players to 42.
The coach and his team, who had initially planned to meet 75 candidates, finally saw more than 90 players before making their choice.
"It is an honor to be captain of the France teamsaid Charles Ollivon in a video recorded and broadcast at the National Rugby Center. It’s a little special moment, quite strong, that takes a little height. It’s a lot of happiness, that bonus in any case. (…) I can't wait to start the adventure. "
Toulon's third line returned to the Blues just before the 2019 World Cup, as a reservist. He returned from a broken shoulder blade in the spring.
Here is the full list of 42 players:
ALDEGHERI Dorian – 26 years old – 4 selections – Stade Toulousain
BAILLE Cyril – 26 years old – 17 selections – Stade Toulousain
BAMBA Demba – 21 years old – 7 selections – Lyon OR CHAT Camille – 24 years old – 26 selections – Racing 92
ETRILLARD Anthony – 26 years old – 0 selection – RC Toulon
GROS Jean-Baptiste – 20 years old – 0 selection – RC Toulon
HAOUAS Mohamed – 25 years old – 0 selection – Montpellier Hérault Rugby
MARCHAND Julien – 24 years old – 2 selections – Stade Toulousain
POIROT Jefferson – 27 years old – 33 selections – Union Bordeaux-Bègles
CAZEAUX Cyril – 24 years old – 0 selection – Union Bordeaux-Bègles
GERACI Killian – 20 years old – 0 selection – Lyon OU LE ROUX Bernard – 30 years old – 37 selections – Racing 92
PALU Boris – 23 years old – 0 selection – Racing 92
TAOFIFENUA Romain – 29 years old – 14 selections – RC Toulon
WILLEMSE Paul – 27 years old – 3 selections – Montpellier Hérault Rugby
ALLDRITT Grégory – 22 years old – 11 selections – Stade Rochelais
CRETIN Dylan – 22 years old – 0 selection – Lyon OU CROS François – 25 years old – 2 selections – Stade Toulousain
FISCHER Alexandre – 21 years old – 0 selection – ASM Clermont Auvergne
MACALOU Sekou – 24 years old – 1 selection – Stade Français Paris
OLLIVON Charles – 26 years old – 11 selections – RC Toulon
TOLOFUA Selevasio – 22 years old – 0 selection – Stade Toulousain
WOKI Cameron – 21 years old – 0 selection – Union Bordeaux-Bègles
DUPONT Antoine – 23 years old – 20 selections – Stade Toulousain LUCU Maxime – 26 years old – 0 selection – Union Bordeaux-Bègles
SERIN Baptiste – 25 years old – 33 selections – RC Toulon
CARBONEL Louis – 20 years old – 0 selection – RC Toulon
JALIBERT Matthieu – 21 years old – 1 selection – Union Bordeaux-Bègles
NTAMACK Romain – 20 years old – 12 selections – Stade Toulousain
FICKOU Gaël – 25 years old – 51 selections – Stade Français
HERITEAU Julien – 25 years old – 0 selection – RC Toulon
VAKATAWA Virimi – 27 years old – 21 caps – Racing 92
VINCENT Arthur – 20 years old – 0 selection – Montpellier Hérault Rugby
CORDIN Gervais – 21 years old – 0 selection – RC Toulon
ETIEN Lester – 24 years old – 0 selection – Stade Français Paris
NGANDEBE Gabriel – 22 selections – 0 selection
PENAUD Damian – 23 years old – 16 selections – ASM Clermont-Ferrand
FAIL Vincent – 27 years old – 3 selections – Stade Rochelais
THOMAS Teddy – 26 years old – 16 selections – Racing 92
BOUTHIER Anthony – 27 years old – 0 selection – Montpellier Hérault Rugby
HAMDAOUI Kylan – 25 years old – 0 selection – Stade Français Paris
RAMOS Thomas – 24 years old – 9 selections – Stade Toulousain
