XV of France: the list of 42 players for the autumn tour

Fabien Galthié unveiled on Monday the list of 42 players selected for the autumn tour of the XV of France with nine novices.

The nine “new” that the boss of the Blues called to face Argentina on November 6, Georgia on the 14th and the All Blacks on the 20th, are Thibaud Flament (Stade Toulouse), the Bordelais Thierry Paiva, Romain Buros and Maxime Lucu , Toulousain Matthis Lebel, Racingman Donovan Taofifenua, Clermontois Tani Vili, as well as Castresian Florent Vanverberghe and Montpellier Florian Verhaeghe. In total, these Blues have 25 years and 13 selections on average.

“Flament and Verhaeghe, they perform in club. They have skills on the sidelines, explained the French boss. We want to see them work with us, see how they respond to training. It will be the first step for them. Then we’ll see, step by step. “

The scrum-half Antoine Dupont is obviously present, as are the indestructible Romain Ntamack, Grégory Alldritt, Bernard Le Roux, Julien Marchand or Gaël Fickou. The center of Racing 92, the most experienced player of the Blues, also holds the rope to replace the post of captain the third row of Toulon Charles Ollivon, long injured.

“This is a central question, explained Raphaël Ibanez, manager of the XV of France. We gave more thought to the question of leadership within a team. It is estimated that at least five players have broken away. Gaël (Fickou), Julien (Marchand), Antoine (Dupont), Greg (Alldritt) and Anthony (Jelonch). A captain must meet several criteria: performance, generosity, humility, loyalty. ”