1
Dupont trains but unavailable as France name team for Italy
By Grant Constable
France's head coach, Fabien Galthié, has unveiled his 23-man squad for the upcoming Pool A match against Italy at OL Stadium in Lyon on Friday, October 6th.
Charles Ollivon will captain the team for the 14th time, marking his first stint in the role since November 2022 when he led against Japan in Toulouse.
Maxime Lucu takes the scrum-half position, stepping in for injured captain Antoine Dupont. He will partner flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert, a combination that hasn't been seen since their two-test tour of Japan in July 2022. Star halfback Dupont has returned to training but is currently unavailable for selection.
It will only be the third time since Dupont's international debut in 2017 that France will face Italy without his presence. On the previous two occasions, France emerged victorious 34-17 in Marseille in 2018 and 36-5 in Paris in November 2020.
Damian Penaud enters the match as a standout performer in 2023, having notched up the highest number of tries scored with an impressive tally of 12. He's currently on a six-game try-scoring streak, marking the longest such streak of his career. He is also France's third all-time leading try-scorer, with 33 tries to his name, trailing only Serge Blanco (38) and Vincent Clerc (34).
Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who made his debut for France against Scotland in Edinburgh earlier this year, takes the left wing slot ahead of Gabin Villiere. He has scored four tries in just five tests.
France top Pool A and need just a draw to progress. A win for Italy, without 2 France bonus points (losing within seven and for scoring four tries), could see the hosts knocked out.
FRANCE TEAM TO PLAY ITALY
1 Cyril Baille
2 Peato Mauvaka
3 Uini Atonio
4 Cameron Woki
5 Thibaud Flament
6 Anthony Jelonch
7 Charles Ollivon (c)
8 Gregory Alldritt
9 Maxime Lucu
10 Matthieu Jalibert
11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey
12 Jonathan Danty
13 Gael Fickou
14 Damian Penaud
15 Thomas Ramos
Replacements:
16 Pierre Bourgarit
17 Reda Wardi
18 Dorian Aldegheri
19 Romain Taofifenua
20 Francois Cros
21 Baptiste Couilloud
22 Yoram Moefana
23 Melvyn Jaminet
Earlier, Italy named their team:
Trending on RugbyPass
2
Pieter-Steph du Toit on the now infamous RWC semi-final halftime spray
3
Pieter-Steph du Toit dismisses All Blacks as Boks' hardest RWC match
4
15 more of the biggest transfer flops in rugby union history
5
Latest Comments
You have got to consider that if the situation was flipped and the French were held to a salary cap with no English equivalent, the English would laugh in their faces and tell them to get over it. As for Leinster (as a fan), the central contract system is a dream but is guilty of cutting out the other 3 provinces. At the end of the day, it comes across outside of the English border that the Premiership is drowning and trying to take everyone else with it rather than adapt. The English lose, the English want new rules. We've seen this repeat (and once it even led to the current Champions Cup) You make many good and informed points, but if the flip was on the other flop, it wouldn't be Rugby’s problem I suspect - it would be a French one.
Go to commentsSeems to have been a bright start but it tailed off. To win the big matches you have to get used to putting your foot on the throttle and your opponent’s necks in an 80 minutes performance which is what the All Blacks were renowned for. An example in the Women’s game is England v Ireland in the 6N match played at Twickenham in April. Watch on YouTube.
Go to comments