France's performances shine despite disturbing off-field dramas

Will France secure their 40^th victory against Los Pumas on Saturday, July 13? If they do, it will also mark Fabien Galthié's 40^th win with Les Bleus as head coach.

Should the visitors replicate last week's 28-13 first-leg triumph in Mendoza, they would extend their winning streak against Argentina to six consecutive matches. Los Pumas, meanwhile, will be making only their second international appearance since their narrow miss for the bronze medal at Rugby World Cup 2023.

Off-field controversies, such as racist comments made by Melvyn Jaminet and the sexual assault allegations against Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, have cast a disturbing shadow over a tour meant to herald a new generation of players. Nevertheless, the matches played so far have met expectations.

In Mendoza on July 6, France comfortably won their clash against Felipe Contepomi's Argentina despite having fewer than 100 caps in their starting XV, almost half of which belong to captain Baptiste Serin (45), who will continue to lead the side on July 13.

With rookies center Antoine Frisch (45^th) and winger Théo Attissogbe (66^th), Serin (35^th) crossed the line to score a try, while fly-half Antoine Hastoy added ten points through penalties and conversions, supplemented by a penalty from Jaminet.

This third match of the South American tour sees two changes to the starting line-up, notably the return of La Rochelle back-row Judicaël Cancoriet (28, 4 caps), who was withdrawn from the first Test with angina and is now making his first appearance for Les Bleus in over six years. His last cap for France was against New Zealand on June 9, 2018 (52-11).

Back-row Mickaël Guillard makes his second start (he was a replacement in the first Test), while four newcomers are on the bench: back-row Romain Briatte, Killian Tixeront, scrum-half Baptiste Jauneau, and fly-half Léo Berdeu, who was the player of the match against Uruguay for his 100% kicking performance.

As a result, only tighthead prop Régis Montagne, recalled urgently to replace the sacked Jaminet, and 19-year-old Fijian-born center Simeli Daunivucu, considered the next big star for the French team, did not play a single match on this tour.

Following France Developpement's 43-28 win over Uruguay in Montevideo on Wednesday, July 10 (which did not count as an official test), France has now won their last four away matches since losing to Ireland in Dublin in February 2023. However, despite these good results, France will not be able to claim third place in the world rankings before the November international window, as they would only gain 0.70 points with a win.

The French are guaranteed to end their tour of South America ranked fourth in the world, unless Argentina wins, and Steve Borthwick's England ends the All Blacks' thirty-year unbeaten run at Eden Park.