France midfielder Danty in doubt for All Blacks
France have been dealt another blow before their Rugby World Cup begins with star midfielder Jonathan Danty in doubt for the opener against the All Blacks in eight days time.
After losing star flyhalf Romain Ntamack for the entire tournament, Danty aggravated his hamstring in the 41-10 win over Australia in the last warm-up match.
L'Equipe reported on Wednesday that the inside centre has been scratched but another French publication RugbyRama says the decision has not been final, with Galthie still considering playing Danty against the All Blacks.
The powerful runner will be monitored by France's medical staff and a decision will be made closer to game day according to their report.
The initial diagnosis was for two weeks on the sidelines, which would slate Danty's return for the second pool match against Uruguay.
Danty has 23 caps for France and has formed a midfield pairing with Gael Fickou since the abrupt retirement of Virimi Vakatawa.
The pair have 12 outings together and started against the All Blacks in the 40-25 win the last time the two sides met.
If he is unavailable to play New Zealand, 23-year-old Yoram Moefana may get the nod. The Bordeaux midfielder has played 61 times in the midfield for his club with 38 of them in the No 12 jersey.
Montpellier centre Arthur Vincent is the other available option in France's 33-man World Cup squad.
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Excellent game management in the last 15 or so minutes to close it out. Aussie got a bit panicky.
Go to commentsWhile all this is going on… I’ve been thinking more about the NFL draft system and how to make the commercial elements of the game more sustainable for SA teams who precariously live on the fringe of these developments. SA teams play in Europe now, and are welcome, because there’s a novelty to it. SA certainly doesn’t bring the bucks (like a Japan would to SR) but they bring eyes to it. But if they don’t perform (because they don’t have the money like the big clubs) - it’s easy come easy go… I think there is an element of strategic drafting going on in SA. Where the best players (assets) are sort of distributed amongst the major teams. It’s why we’re seeing Moodie at the Bulls for example and not at his homegrown Western Province. 20-30 years ago, it was all about playing for your province of birth. That has clearly changed in the modern era. Maybe Moodie couldn’t stay in the cape because at the time the Stormers were broke? Or had too many good players to fit him in? Kistchoff’s sabbatical to Ireland and back had financial benefits. Now they can afford him again (I would guess). What I am getting at is - I think SA Rugby needs to have a very strong strategy around how teams equitably share good youth players out of the youth structures. That is SA’s strong point - a good supply of good players out of our schools and varsities. It doesn’t need to be the spectacle we see out of the states, but a system where SA teams and SA rugby decide on where to draft youth, how to fund this and how to make it that it were possible for a team like the Cheetahs (for example) to end up with a team of young stars and win! This is the investment and thinking that needs to be happening at grassroots to sustain the monster meanwhile being created at the top.
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