THE FRENCH RUGBY Union (FFR) have announced that players from the Top 14 finalists will not feature in the 2025 and 2026 international summer windows.
The move means players from the Top 14 finalists will not be involved in the tour to New Zealand next July.
The FFR have revealed in a statement that they have formed a new player availability agreement with the National Rugby League (LNR), a move that will likely see France travel to New Zealand without some of their leading stars due to domestic league commitments.
The agreement sees the FFR and LNR seek ‘to reconcile the performance of French teams, the competitiveness of clubs and the health of players’.
They have also announced provisions for the 2025 and 2026 Six Nations tournaments. A 42-player squad will be selected two weeks before the start of the action, with 23 players kept until Sunday, while the other 19 return to their clubs on the Wednesday evening and could feature in Top 14 games.
For each week of tournament action, 28 players will be kept in the French camp until the weekend, with 14 players returning to their club on the Wednesday evening.
The series will still be more competitive than the Lions tour
Sensible decision – and why the French often out perform us when it matters at a World Cup. Meanwhile Ireland will continue to go full strength in friendlies and look world beaters, without blooding young guys.
@Aidan Farrell: at home the French went as far as we did in the world Cup, I am not sure how that merits outperformed us
@chris mcdonnell: read what I said again and look out for the word often.
@Aidan Farrell: This will be the 2nd time France has done this, the first being the summer just passed. I don’t think either have much of a bearing on previous world cups..
@Aidan Farrell: absolutely clueless as usual lad, well done.
@Aidan Farrell: Well how about we analyse that word “often”? Do you mean since 1987 when Ire were not professional and France were (all but in name)? Do you mean since 1995 when Ire were a basket case or would it be fair to analyse since 2009 when Ireland only really started to make a mark on the international stage with their first Grand Slam since 1948. Even in 2009 we just about had 23 players capable of playing for Ireland, never mind having an opportunity to blood players like France could. France reached the final in 2011, but lost to Tonga along the way. Ire topped their group but lost in the QF. 1-0 France. 2015, both exited in the QF, but Ire beat France in the pool stage. 1-1. 2019 and 2023 both exited in the QF. I definitely wouldn’t say France “outperform” Ire at RWCs.
@Paul Ennis: Ah lad, that’s what a statistician would call cherry-picking. Without truncating or winsorizing the data, or making false equivalents like “we beat France in the pool”, the record that matters is France have 3 finals and 6 semi finals (I think, I’d need to check for sure). We have none (and I don’t need to check!)
@Richard Barnes: I don’t agree. If you don’t select a relevant period for your data you will come up with incorrect conclusions. For example… Wales have been more successful in the 6N than Ireland and have always had a policy of selecting overseas players whilst Ireland have not. Does that mean that Ireland should start selecting overseas players? No, because if you only use data since 2000, Ireland have a record just as good as Wales. In addition, France have always had a much deeper pool of players to choose from, which means it has always been an easier decision for them to blood new caps during a Summer or Autumn. Ireland could never have considered the same policy prior to 2009 as to do so would not have benefited the newly capped players that would have been out of their depth.
I live in France and the Talent that is outside of the main pool is very impressive not just in the top14 but Pro d2 , for example Lou Carbonal at brive is a major talent at 19 he is already been watched by the national coaches …
This is another way of growing the squad and not being left high and dry when one of the holy trinity are not available
A bit of blow to the new tournament that’s starting in July 2026 with France not sending their full team?
Seen a mad stat that Dupont has only played 32 of rugby in the Southern Hemisphere in his career