FRANCE HEAD coach Fabien Galthie has named 22 uncapped players in his final squad for next month’s three-game tour of South America, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) announced on Sunday.
The new faces included Munster centre Antoine Frisch who spent last week at Les Bleus pre-tour training camp after choosing to represent France over Ireland.
Three props in Grenoble’s Regis Montagne as well as Bayonne pair Mathis Perchaud are Tevita Tatafu are the only players not to make it from the camp to the final squad.
Galthie has picked 11 individuals from Stade Francais and La Rochelle, the two sides who tasted defeat during this weekend’s French Top 14 semi-finals.
Players from Toulouse and Bordeaux-Begles, who will meet in next Friday’s final, are unavailable for the tour, which includes two Test against Argentina on 6 and 13 July, either side of a non-capped match against Uruguay on 10 July.
In-form 21-year-old La Rochelle flanker Oscar Jegou is included for the first time having been banned for a month earlier in the season for cocaine use.
Stade Francais flanker Romain Briatte, 31, also gets his maiden call-up after their defeat to Bordeaux-Begles on Saturday.
Toulon scrum-half Baptiste Serin is the most experienced member of the squad with 44 caps, having made his Test debut against the Pumas in 2016.
Props Sebastien Taofifenua and Georges-Henri Colombe as well as full-back Leo Barre are the only survivors from France’s last game, the 33-31 Six Nations victory over England in March.
French rugby’s poster boy Antoine Dupont is absent with Toulouse after which he will join up with France’s sevens team, eyeing a place in their squad for this summer’s Paris Olympic Games.
Squad
Forwards: Gaetan Barlot, Teddy Baubigny, Jannick Tarit; Demba Bamba, Giorgi Beria, Georges-Henri Colombe, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Thomas Laclayat, Sebastien Taofifenua; Hugo Auradou, Pierre-Henri Azagoh, Baptiste Pesenti, Posolo Tuilagi, Florent Vanverberghe; Romain Briatte, Judicael Cancoriet, Ibrahim Diallo, Mickael Guillard, Oscar Jegou, Jordan Joseph, Lenni Nouchi, Yann Peysson, Killian Tixeront
Backs: Baptiste Couilloud, Baptiste Jauneau, Baptiste Serin, Leo Berdeu, Louis Carbonel, Antoine Hastoy, Leon Darricarrere, Simeli Daunivucu, Jules Favre, Antoine Frisch, Emilien Gailleton, Arthur Vincent; Theo Attissogbe, Leo Barre, Lucas Dubois, Lester Etien, Nathanael Hulleu, Joris Jurand
I love the way at the start of the article it says that he choose to represent france.
He accepted an invitation to French camp after being overlooked by ireland like some of his former Munster teammates who are now playing for other countries too.
@Joe O’Regan: He’s French and was always going to select the country of his birth if selected. French parents, one Irish grandparent. Who should ireland have dropped to accommodate Frisch?
@SPK: why is it always “who should be dropped”? Rotating uncapped form players in during summer tours, certain six nations games, and autumn internationals is a standard way to develop players. Flip the question: why was he not deserving of an opportunity that was given to many other players with less form, less experience, or purely on “potential”?
@Brenda Collins: and Ireland do that with their four main centres. Why is it so hard to believe he’s just not good enough ? (Which is what his Munster performances indicate)
Bear in mind this is a French C/D team, he has zero chance of playing with the main team (unlike Gailleton for ex)
@Brenda Collins: You talk about form, what form? He goes from being very good in one game. To being absolutely awful in the next. On form, he would not have been anywhere near an Irish squad. He had a very good first season, was brought on the Emerging Ireland tour and was clearly given work on’s from that. He was never going to make an Irish squad ahead of Aki, Henshaw, McCloskey or Ringrose and his form never demanded that.
Who is Galthie dropping from his front line team? No one, this isn’t about emotive, provincial reaction, it’s just clever, bring all the fringe and upstarts in, get them capped, sit them back down in case you need to them in the future. We should keep them in the system, it’s silly to fob it off as unnecessary. Same should have happened with Healy. Cap them and sit them down until they’re needed.
@SPK: Osborne, Frawley O’Brien do you want me to go on?
@Andrew Hurley: “zero chance of playing for the main team”. Exactly the same argument you used about Klein when he was overlooked by Ireland and selected by South Africa.
@Cormac McCarthy: Here’s an even better suggestion Cormac. As well as Frawley, O’Brien and Osborne that you mention should be dropped, how’s about we just drop all of the pesky Leinster players to make sure we leave no stone unturned.
@Carmine Lorenzo: No Carmine don’t do that. True they are Leinster players but part of Leinster’s 2nd (B) team – Leinster’s 2nd team that did not have a good couple of seasons. Last years semi final, the trip to SA in April, Ulster matches etc would indicate that Leinster’s 2nd team are not well ahead of first team players from other provinces eg Antoine Frisch. When asked who would I drop to accommodate Frisch I threw out some names. The same argument was used in the case of Klyen. In Klyen’s case it is even more obvious – a player who played 0 minutes in the World Cup – Ryan Baird. In the past Harry Byrne/ Frawley ahead of Crowley/Healy. Nothing against Baird, Frawley, Osborne good players and in the mix for international call up. Should Leinster players always be given the nod.
This tour is being viewed as the equivalent of an emerging Ireland tour. Not surprising given the opposition. Nice for Frisch but there are about 10 centers in the French system who would be ahead of him. It’s unlikely he will get capped in a significant game.
@Stephen Nolan: This is exactly the same argument used when Jean Kleyn was called up by South Africa. He would never be selected in the first team, he would not make the World Cup squad, he would never play in the World Cup pool stages. Do I need to remind you how wrong that proved to be.
Another lost opportunity
@Lulu: it will continue until things get fixed
@Lulu: he’s a born and bred Frenchman.
@Lulu: 22 uncapped players FFS, talking about making it special!
@Lulu: Hopefully we can realise where we’re missing a trick and they look to sort it in the future, regardless of weather this or that fan thinks a player is ‘good’ enough get them capped OR potentially play against them in a test series.
So France’s front line players get the summer off after the World Cup.
@Nicholas Farrar: They are not playing the world champions. If they were touring SA, practically none of that squad would travel.
@Nicholas Farrar: And they get to make sure that any players who qualify for another nation never play against France. Pretty wise