FRANCE HEAD COACH Fabien Galthié said on Thursday he had “no surprises” in his unchanged starting team to face Ireland in the Six Nations this weekend.
Les Bleus, the defending champions who are ranked second in the world, have made changes to their bench for Saturday’s visit to the side top of the standings.
The France squad have been together since late January, having spent time in the Atlantic coast town of Capbreton before recovering from Sunday’s 29-24 win over Italy in Rome this week.
“There are no surprises in the starting line-up, nor among the finishers,” Galthié told reporters.
“What is behind the selection is the performance and the bonus point victory, with our objectives achieved.
☘️🆚🇫🇷 Notre deuxième match du #SixNations 2023 nous amène à Dublin pour y défier 𝒍𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒆́𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒑𝒆 𝒅𝒖 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆 !
— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) February 9, 2023
💪 Rendez-vous samedi ! #NeFaisonsXV #XVdeFrance #IRLFRA pic.twitter.com/eAfWyYyg3I
“The coherence too, it’s three weeks that we’ve worked with the starting line-up.”
“Also, there’s the search for consistency,” he added.
Toulouse flanker Francois Cros comes in for La Rochelle lock Thomas Lavault and Lyon scrum-half Baptiste Couilloud replaces Racing 92′s Nolan Le Garrec after the narrow win over the Azzurri.
Cros, 28, has made 16 Test appearances since his France debut shortly before the 2019 Rugby World Cup, after which Galthié took over as coach.
“He was with us during the Grand Slam in 2022, and the successful November series before that,” Galthié said. “He has great knowledge of the team and the international level.”
Couilloud, 25, captained the side during the 2020 Autumn Nations Cup final.
“Baptiste Couilloud has also significant experience with us,” Galthié said. “He also has potential.”
Cros’ club team-mate, back-rower Anthony Jelonch, keeps his place despite sitting out full training on Wednesday.
“Anthony was rested,” Galthié said.
“In high intensity matches, some players need a little bit more time to recover. It was the case for Anthony, who had a great game in Rome.”
The match against Ireland in Dublin takes place less than seven months out from the start of the World Cup, which France will host.
France
- 15. Thomas Ramos (Toulouse)
- 14. Damian Penaud (Clermont)
- 13. Gael Fickou (Racing 92)
- 12. Yoram Moefana (Bordeaux)
- 11. Ethan Dumortier (Lyon)
- 10. Romain Ntamack (Toulouse)
- 9. Antonie Dupont (Toulouse – captain)
- 1. Cyril Baille (Toulouse)
- 2. Julien Marchand (Toulouse)
- 3. Uini Atonio (La Rochelle)
- 4. Thibaud Flament (Toulouse)
- 5. Paul Willemse (Montpellier)
- 6. Anthony Jelonch (Toulouse)
- 7. Charles Ollivon (Toulon)
- 8. Gregory Aldritt (La Rochelle)
Replacements:
- 16. Gaetan Barlot (Castres)
- 17. Reda Wardi (La Rochelle)
- 18. Sipili Falatea (Bordeaux)
- 19. Romain Taofifenua (Lyon)
- 20. Francois Cros (Toulouse)
- 21. Sekou Macalou (Stade Francais)
- 22. Baptiste Couilloud (Lyon)
- 23. Matheiu Jalibert (Bordeaux)
Updated at 12.12pm with Fabien Galthié quotes.
