Following the confirmation of France’s 23-man squad to face Ireland this weekend, here are our key winners and losers from Fabien Galthie’s selection.
Winners
Romain Ntamack
The big winner this weekend is the returning Romain Ntamack, who will have a point to prove after missing their previous two Tests this Championship. He looked in ominous form against Wales prior to his late brainfart, and now he is reinstalled into that telepathic axis with Antoine Dupont and Thomas Ramos through their spine, which has been at the heart of both Toulouse’s and France’s success in recent years, he should be at his very best once again. He could easily take France up a gear, which is a scary prospect considering they ran in 73 points against Italy.
Damian Penaud
Another returning back is Bordeaux’s Damian Penaud, who you expect will be running around like a bull that has just seen red against Ireland. The flyer was used as a scapegoat after the shock England defeat, but that should only fuel him to hit the frightening heights he is capable of. Penaud is an apex predator in this France attack, with his lightning speed and eye for a try making him their main weapon, and after a week out of the picture, he will be raring to show why he is back in the squad.
Mickael Guillard
It’s a big sign of trust from Galthie to keep the 24-year-old in the starting XV this week, but he will need to repay his coach if he wants to nail that shirt down. The Lyon lock, who has eight caps to his name at the time of writing, was red-hot in the mammoth win against Italy and grabbed a nice try for his efforts, but it’s that performance which has kept him in over the fit-again Emmanuel Meafou. Guillard added those deft touches too that the Toulouse lock has become famous for as well, which was a good sign of his quality.
Gregory Alldritt
Galthie’s enforcer-in-chief has overcome a slight injury concern to retain his spot in the side, and that is a HUGE boost to Les Bleus. Alldritt has been at his brutal best so far this Six Nations, which in turn has really helped France run away from their opposition in their two wins. With Ireland counterpart Caelan Doris also likely to be fit as well, having Alldritt back in the mix is the perfect counter to that.
Emmanuel Meafou
Behemoth lock Meafou is back available after missing the Italy game through injury, and he will be another one out to show his true value to this French team. The Toulouse man has become a crucial cog in the French team since his Test debut, with his cute handling matched by his sheer brute strength in the carry. The scary thing is that he will come on when the game is breaking up and could easily just come on and cause utter chaos.
Midfield combination
The centre partnership of Yoram Moefana and Pierre Louis Barassi still hasn’t fully fired as well as Galthie would have wanted, but they have been handed the starting shirts once again this weekend. As individuals, they’ve had fairly decent outings but as a unit, they just haven’t gelled together yet and that has cost them at times. England got decent change through their respective channel at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham and Brexoncello also had a decent day of it charging through midfield too.
Maxime Lucu
The fact he is, once again, the only back on the bench proves just how important Maxime Lucu is to Galthie in this France side. The Bordeaux nine has added some nice tempo to the French attack in his cameos from the bench thus far and that clearly is pleasing Galthie as he keeps his place as the only back on the bench. Whilst he might not be starting, with Dupont making that number nine jersey his own, Lucu has done all he can to prove the doubters wrong after a tough time of it last year.
Losers
Leo Barre
In our eyes, Stade Francais full-back Leo Barre can feel very hard done by not being in the 23-man squad after his superb outing against Italy. Yes, Ntamack will always start at fly-half when available and Ramos will always start at 15 too, but Barre was exceptional against the Azzurri and offered a completely fresh dynamic to this France side. He has also clearly been a victim of the 7/1 split too, and would have likely been on the bench had Galthie opted to run with a 6/2.
Theo Attissogbe
Again, Pau ace Theo Attissogbe can count himself incredibly unlucky to once again be dropped after his superb outing against Italy, but with Penaud now back in Galthie’s good books, he was always going to start. Like Barre, too, he is probably outside of the 23 due to the 7/1 split. The 20-year-old already looks like a serious Test operator and will go on to win plenty more caps throughout his career, but for now, he has to be patient.
Nolann le Garrec
This time last year, Nolann le Garrec was the next cab off the rank at scrum-half, but it seems his stock has fallen this Six Nations. It’s an unenviable job trying to displace the best player in the world from the starting side, but it now seems Lucu is ahead of him in the pecking order and he faces a big task to push his way back into the side. Like Attissogbe, he will go on to win loads more caps but he too must get used to being outside of the 23, for now.
Matthieu Jalibert
In any other Test team in the world, Matthieu Jalibert walks into the starting fly-half shirt, but yet again he finds himself outside of the 23. Galthie and Jalibert have had their public spats in recent times, which could potentially play a part in his omission, but with Ntamack slotting straight back into the starting XV it just shows how far down the pecking order he is right now. He’s a superb player, but he just can’t seem to get into Galthie’s thoughts.
Alexandre Roumat
He’s gone from starting against Wales and England to now not being in the 23-man squad, even with the 7/1 split. That’s quite a drop-off. In fairness, he’s not an out-and-out lock, particularly in the mould of the French beasts, but yet he has done a decent job there and gave a good account of himself in the Autumn Nations Series as well. France are blessed with options up front, but he has now seen himself fall down the order.
Tevita Tatafu
Another forward who has been pushed down the list is Tevita Tatafu, who again finds himself outside of the 23-man squad. He was touted as the long-term successor to Uini Atonio after some strong showings in the Autumn Nations Series, but now sees Dorian Aldegheri ahead of him in Galthie’s thoughts.
Romain Taofifenua
With Guillard retaining his starting shirt and Meafou back in the mix, Romain Taofifenua is back out of the 23-man squad and it could be a tough ask to get his way back in. The 34-year-old is coming towards the end of his Test career, and with Guillard overtaking him in the pecking order it might be a natural conclusion.
Gael Fickou
You felt, given the midfield issues mentioned above, Gael Fickou would have been drafted into Galthie’s side, but alas, he is yet again on the sidelines. Injury issues have really hit him hard this season, but in years gone by Fickou has been one of Galthie’s most trusted generals on the pitch, particularly in defence, and that plus his Test experience would have made this the perfect game to bring him back into the mix. Is this a sign that France might be beginning to move away from Fickou?
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/france-team-v-ireland-winners-and-losers-as-duo-fall-victim-to-springboks-tactics-while-apex-predator-returns
