Fabien Galthie has swung the selection axe and made drastic changes for the clash against Italy.
Fabien Galthie has swung the selection axe and made drastic changes to his matchday squad for France’s Six Nations clash against Italy.
France head into Sunday’s match off the back of defeat to England in Round Two and Galthie has ruthlessly reacted to the loss.
Notably, the ex-scrum-half has selected seven forwards and one backline player on his bench, becoming the first Tier One nation after the Springboks to employ the controversial tactic.
His shock selections don’t stop there as Damian Penaud and Matthieu Jalibert have paid the price for their performances at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham with both players dropped from the France matchday 23.
Galthie swings the axe
According to reports, the French coaching staff were not pleased with Penaud’s performance despite the winger scoring and assisting a try. It is said that the staff were unimpressed with him going missing on defence and failed to provide support on three occasions in attack which led to turnovers in the Six Nations defeat.
Penaud has subsequently been replaced in the team by Théo Attissogbe who started the opening round win over Wales. Louis Bielle-Biarrey starts on the other wing while Galthie has made a change at full-back with Leo Barre taking over at 15 as Thomas Ramos replaces Jalibert at fly-half.
Yoram Moefana and Pierre-Louis Barassi remain as the starting centres despite the return to fitness of veteran star Gael Fickou. Antoine Dupont captains the team from scrum-half.
The loose trio stays intact with Gregory Alldritt, Paul Boudehent, and Francois Cros starting. Second-rower Emmanuel Meafou misses the game through illness which results in a start for Mickaël Guillard alongside Thibaud Flament.
The front-row is also unchanged with Uini Atonio at tighthead, Peato Mauvaka at hooker and Jean-Baptiste Gros at loosehead.
Galthie’s bench gamble has resulted in Nolann Le Garrec being dropped from the 23 as he is replaced by Maxime Lucu who is the only cover for the backline.
Anthony Jelonch’s impressive shift for Toulouse back from injury reportedly caught the eye of the France head coach who has thrown him onto the bench as loose forward cover along with Oscar Jegou while Alexandre Roumat and Romain Taofifenua provide options in the second-row.
Finally, Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille and Dorian Aldegheri are the front-row replacements for Les Bleus.
Backlash bound to come
The make-up of France’s bench is bound to face backlash which has been the case for the Springboks with ex-Scotland boss Matt Williams being the most vocal critic. He has called or World Rugby to change the laws to outlaw the tactic.
In his latest rant about the law in his Times column, he wrote: “Even though 7-1 and 6-2 benches are now common, they remain unjust and dangerous.
“At World Rugby’s council meeting last November, they should have been legislated into the history books, alongside the spinal injuries that brought the bench into existence… The practice of selecting a 7-1 or a 6-2 bench and replacing seven or six forwards only minutes into the second half also has many concussion experts concerned that the introduction of several huge, fresh athletes against fatigued opposition increases the chances of brain injury.”
France team v Italy
France: 15 Leo Barré, 14 Théo Attissogbe, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Mickaël Guillard, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Oscar Jegou, 21 Alexandre Roumat, 22 Anthony Jelonch, 23 Maxime Lucu
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Date: Sunday, 23 February, 2025
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Chris Busby (IRFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
FPRO: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Broadcasters: ITV, France Télévisions, Virgin Media One, Sky Sport / TV8 (Italy), Supersport (Africa), WOWOW (Japan), Premier Sports (Pan Asia), Stan Sport (Australia), Sky NZ (New Zealand), DAZN (Canada), NBC / Peacock / FuboTV (USA)
