FRANCE BELIEVE THAT Munster centre Antoine Frisch is committed to pursuing an international career with them after joining their Six Nations training camp for several days ahead of their clash with England tomorrow.
Frisch was released from French camp on Wednesday and remains Ireland-eligible for now, but les Bleus feel the 27-year-old Munster man is happy to continue chasing caps with his native land.
Frisch, who qualifies for Ireland through his grandmother, joined Munster on a three-season contract in 2022 and played for the Emerging Ireland development team that same year. However, he has not been included in Andy Farrell’s senior Ireland squad yet.
Speaking yesterday, Farrell said Frisch remains in Ireland’s thoughts moving forward, given that he is still eligible, but France believe the 27-year-old is keen to continue with them.
It’s thought that several Top 14 clubs are interested in signing Frisch if he becomes a France international on their tour of South America this summer when head coach Fabien Galthié will leave front-line players at home and be without players involved in the Top 14 semi-finals.
France’s director of performance, Nicolas Jeanjean, spoke to the media in France and indicated that they were keen to ‘capture’ Frisch’s eligibility and prevent him from playing for Ireland.
“Yes, maybe, but Fabien has really been in a relationship with him for several seasons,” said Jeanjean.
“It’s the player who will decide, of course, but he’s a French player born in France who seems delighted to be here. On Tuesday, we had a slightly more difficult session with him as he hadn’t played last week and there were a lot of smiles, a lot of commitment.
“I think that if he’s here, it is because he’s committed and he’s proud to wear the colours that are his at the moment.”
Jeanjean also explained how the French national team have been working with Munster to exchange physical data on Frisch to help the centre acclimatise to their training camp.
The French have liked what they’ve seen of Frisch so far.
“He’s a player with the profile of a grafter, someone who tasted the highest level quite late, through strong choices, since he left for another country to be exposed to the highest level,” said Jeanjean.
“He started in England and now plays in Ireland. The performance environment in Anglo-Saxon countries is very different to that of France. There is a lot of rigour around the approach to sport, particularly rugby. This meant processes had put in place to help him.
“It’s interesting because it’s the first time that we have exchanged with an Irish club in terms of physical preparation, in this case Munster, since there had never been a French player called up coming from there before him.
“It was good to have discussions with the Munster staff, it was a first step that was taken positively, without too much compartmentalization.
“They sent us a whole bunch of data from his training and when Antoine returns to the club, we will also send data from his sessions with us. It’s healthy and interesting.
“Everything is in the player’s interest, the goal is for there to be maximum continuity. Antoine is a guy that I didn’t know physically, but the more information and data of his work we have, the better we can train him.
“Fabien Galthié has been in contact with him for a while now. He has a particular profile because few French players play abroad these days. The financial strength of the Top 14 means that our players stay in France.
“Concerning him, the opportunity presented itself with the injury of Pierre-Louis Barassi. It was the right time for Fabien to summon him, to spend time together, to discover him on a human and rugby level.”
