France team: Winners and losers as Galthie goes ‘nuclear’ in the hope of blasting ‘seething’ Scots off the park
Our winners and losers from Fabien Galthie's selections for the final round of the Six Nations.
Following the announcement of the France team to face Scotland in the final round of the Six Nations, we pick out our winners and losers from Fabien Galthie’s selection.
France head into Super Saturday with one eye on the title with a win of any kind likely to be enough considering the 86-point differential buffer over England.
Still, Galthie is taking no chances and has once again backed Le Bomb Squad – selecting seven forwards and one back on his bench – for the fixture.
Without further ado, here are our winners and losers from the France matchday squad to face Scotland.
Winners
Maxime Lucu
After a marvellous performance against Ireland last week, Maxime Lucu richly deserves the opportunity to start the Six Nations decider following the gutting injury to Antoine Dupont.
The 32-year-old was nothing short of sublime in the victory over Ireland and will surely continue in that fashion as France look to seal the title.
Last year, Lucu filled Dupont’s void while the captain steered France to an Olympic Gold and would lose the starting role mid-tournament to Nolann Le Garrec, but now he gets a second shot in a massive Test match and a shot at clinching the title.
Gael Fickou
Gael Fickou’s pre-tournament injury was dubbed a hammer blow for the side and rightly so. However, the old adage of one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity rings true in this case as Pierre-Louis Barassi took his chance with both hands and then some.
Now Barassi is sidelined through injury and it is Fickou’s opportunity to reclaim his starting role but do so in record-equalling fashion as he notches up his 50th cap in the Six Nations and equals Phillipe Sella’s tally.
The veteran midfielder is thoroughly deserving of his milestone achievement having been a crucial cog in Les Bleus’ backline for so many years. An incredible talent and, with France on the cusp of glory, Galthie could not have asked for a more perfect replacement in the backline.
Nolann Le Garrec
As Lucu moves into the starting XV in the absence of Dupont, one would not have blamed Galthie for returning to a more conservative bench set-up after backing Le Bomb Squad against Ireland, rolling the dice with the 7-1 split in favour of the forwards.
When the France boss initially made that call, he had the services of Dupont who could quite frankly slip into any backline position in the event of an injury, with Lucu providing cover for the captain in the worst case which ultimately unfolded.
However, Galthie clearly trusts Lucu and Racing 92 star Nolann Le Garrec to fill Dupont’s void and cover the same positions in the backline as the captain did. It was a rather harsh call for Le Garrec to be dropped from the bench in the first place after standout cameos in the opening rounds but now he gets the chance to finish the Championship strongly in the title-decider.
Micka?l Guillard
What a Championship it has been for the 24-year-old second rower who starts for the third successive Test match in what is a crucial role in the French squad.
Galthie has made no secret about how important the tighthead lock is in his squad. Paul Willemse had locked down the role for such a long time but is now sidelined due to concussion, which could end his career. Romain Taofifenua worked well in tandem with Willemse, giving France a quality 80-minute shift from the position. However, he has slipped down the pecking order due to Emmanuel Meafou becoming eligible for France and the rise of Micka?l Guillard.
Guillard slotted into the starting jersey in the absence of Meafou against Italy and impressed so much that when the usual first-choice returned, he took a spot on the bench. While the starting role matters less with a 7-1 bench, it is still a real feather in Guillard’s cap that he is entrusted with getting his side off on the right foot.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey
There is a strong argument to be made that on current form he is the best backline player in the world right now and as France eyes up the title, the speedster sets his sights on a Six Nations record. Louis Bielle-Biarrey equalled the record for the most tries scored in a single Six Nations Championship when he crossed twice against Ireland, taking his personal tally to seven, and he now has 80 minutes in Paris to break new ground.
Not only has the brilliant 21-year-old finished off tries but he has played his part in setting them up too, assisting four further scores this campaign for a seriously impressive 11 try involvements in just four games.
Fabien Galthie
So, so spoilt for choice. The French head coach has lost arguably the best rugby player on the planet and his skipper but has filled Dupont’s void rather easily.
The likes of Lucu and Le Garrec would crack most international teams while Gregory Alldritt is a sterling option to lead the side having done so previously. He also captains his club La Rochelle regularly.
Perhaps the strength in depth at Galthie’s disposal is only highlighted by those who missed out on the team rather than the ones that have made the matchday 23.
After the 7-1 Le Bomb Squad got the job done against Italy, Galthie is going nuclear again in the hope that France blast their way to a second title under his tutelage.
Losers
Antoine Dupont
A crushing injury. Dupont was in superb form before Tadhg Beirne thundered into his knee sentencing him to six to nine months on the sidelines.
France’s golden generation has failed to really live up to their billing, winning just one Six Nations title since Galthie took charge of the team in 2020.
With the prospect of doubling that tally in front of their home fans, it’s a mighty shame that the brightest star of the golden generation has been denied the opportunity of leading his charges to glory. He may well still hoist the trophy at the Stade de France after the final whistle, which will be his only consolation.
‘I knew what I did’ – Andrew Porter’s blunt reaction to his involvement in Antoine Dupont injury
Alexandre Roumat
After filling Thibaud Flament’s void with great distinction during the opening two rounds, slotting into the second-row, he was dropped to the bench for the clash against Italy and has now been overlooked for the latter stages of the tournament.
Really, he did little wrong to warrant his omission but Galthie has proven to be a ruthless selector again this Six Nations and Roumat has been one of his unfortunate targets.
Gregor Townsend
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend reportedly aired his objections about the Springboks’ and France’s use of the bench with both nations backing the forward-heavy benches selecting the 6-2 and 7-1 splits.
He double-downed on his view as he looked ahead to the clash with France.
“If you want my view, I don’t think the bench was set up to suddenly have a new forward pack coming on. But that’s for World Rugby to decide what you do with the bench, and to make any changes,” he told reporters.
“But just now you can put eight forwards on the bench if you want. We’ve faced it already with South Africa (South Africa won 32-15 at Murrayfield last November).
“We thought we rose to that challenge really well when they brought their seven forwards on and our forwards matched them. If it happens again this week, we’ve got to do even better.”
With the Scotland boss being so vocal about the forward-dominant bench tactics, Galthie’s decision to go 7-1 is clearly the French boss flipping his counterpart two birds.
Townsend will undoubtedly be seething that his charges will have to collide with effectively two French packs this weekend, a tactic he believes is “against the spirit of the game”.
Scotland certainly have the starting pack to battle most international teams but their depth has usually been their undoing and this weekend, they will face the ultimate test.
Theo Attissogbe
Theo Attissogbe scored three tries in his two appearances for France this Six Nations but is a victim of the squad’s depth as once again Galthie has preferred Damian Penaud in the starting XV.
The Pau star replaced Penaud for the round three fixture against Italy after the latter’s defensive efforts left the head coach fuming and swinging the axe.
However, Penaud still had credit in the bank and gets the nod over the 20-year-old star who still has a long international career ahead of him.
Baptiste Serin
Yet again the brilliant Baptiste Serin is overlooked. The Toulon number nine has been in outrageous form in the Top 14 this season and, following the injury to Dupont, he would have fancied his chances of grabbing a place in the matchday 23.
But it was not to be with Galthie backing Lucu and Le Garrec. Depending on how deep Toulon go in the Top 14 and Champions Cup, Serin could well be heading to New Zealand in July and may even captain the team again. While he will relish that challenge, he is surely disappointed that he will miss out on the opportunity of winning the Six Nations with Les Bleus.
In another era, Serin would be a regular starter for France but, unfortunately, the presence of Dupont has restricted his involvement.
READ MORE:?Ireland banking on Finn Russell ‘weaving some magic’ against France as Six Nations title hopes fade?
