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Champions Cup winners dominate France squad to face England XV

Bordeaux-Begles' French prop Jefferson Poirot looks on during the French Top 14 rugby union match between Union Bordeaux-Begles (UBB) and Montpellier Herault Rugby at the Chaban-Delmas Stadium in Bordeaux, south-western France on April 25, 2026. (Photo by ROMAIN PERROCHEAU / AFP)
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41 Comments

Fabien Galthie has named his 28-man France squad that will face an England XV on Friday in Vannes, live on RPTV, with nine players from European champions Bordeaux-Begles.

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Galthie has taken advantage of Bordeaux’s failure to make the Top 14 play-offs, and has flooded his squad with their players, including a return for loosehead Jefferson Poirot. There is, however, no place in the squad for stars Maxime Lucu, Matthieu Jalibert and Louis Bielle-Biarrey for the uncapped fixture.

After losing in the Top 14 quarter-finals at the weekend, both Pau and La Rochelle are well-represented in the squad, although Gregory Alldritt is still absent after being left out of France’s Guinness Six Nations squad.

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The squad also contains nine uncapped players – Castres lock Tom Staniforth, fly-half Louis Le Brun and wing Christian Ambadiang, Bayonne flanker Esteban Capilla and hooker Lucas Martin, Pau fly-half Axel Despérès and wing Grégoire Arfeuil, ASM Clermont-Auvergne hooker Barnabé Massa and Toulon wing Mathis Ferté.

Following Friday’s clash, Les Bleus will take on the All Blacks, Australia and Japan in the Nations Championship in July.

Fixture
Rugby Union Hybrid Friendlies
France XV
35 - 19
Full-time
England A
All Stats and Data

France squad
Forwards
Pierre Bochaton (Bordeaux-Bègles, back row)
Esteban Capilla (Bayonne, flanker)
Sipili Falatea (Bordeaux-Bègles, prop)
Marko Gazzotti (Bordeaux-Bègles, back row)
Mickaël Guillard (Lyon, lock/back row)
Maxime Lamothe (Bordeaux-Bègles, hooker)
Lucas Martin (Bayonne, hooker)
Barnabé Massa (Clermont Auvergne, hooker)
Temo Matiu (Bordeaux-Bègles, back row)
Régis Montagne (Clermont Auvergne, prop)
Boris Palu (Bordeaux-Bègles, lock)
Jefferson Poirot (Bordeaux-Bègles, prop)
Emerick Setiano (Bayonne, prop)
Thomas Staniforth (Castres, lock)
Killian Tixeront (Clermont Auvergne, back row)
Réda Wardi (La Rochelle, prop)

Backs
Christian Ambadiang (Castres, wing)
Grégoire Arfeuil (Pau, wing)
Théo Attissogbe (Pau, wing/full-back)
Fabien Brau-Boirie (Pau, centre)
Nicolas Depoortere (Bordeaux-Bègles, centre)
Axel Despérès (Pau, fly-half)
Mathis Ferté (Toulon, wing/full-back)
Antoine Hastoy (La Rochelle, fly-half)
Baptiste Jauneau (Clermont Auvergne, scrum-half)
Louis Le Brun (Castres, fly-half)
Nolann Le Garrec (Racing 92, scrum-half)
Yoram Moefana (Bordeaux-Bègles, centre)

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Comments

41 Comments
S
Soliloquin 28 days ago

Expected team according to Rugbyrama:

1. Poirot, 2. Lamothe, 3. Falatea,

4. Guillard 5. Staniforth, 

6. Temo Matiu, 7. Capilla 8. Gazzotti,

9. Jauneau, 10. Desperes.

11. Arfeuil, 12. Moefana, 13. Brau-Boirie 14. Ambadiang, 15. Attissogbe.

J
JW 28 days ago

Do you know if it’s a capping team for the aussis and kiwis in it Sol?

B
BigPete 29 days ago

Very solid team based on Club form. I’m surprised to see Moefana and Depoortere selected on this uncapped test, but I’m very excited to see Ambadiang, Capila and Arfeuil! It’s gonna be epic!

J
JW 28 days ago

Is it a capture team for the likes of Staniforth though?

R
RhinoRoc 29 days ago

LBB???

S
SB 29 days ago

No chance, way over 2000 minutes and 30 games already. He will rest over the summer.

S
SB 29 days ago

This team is stronger than last years.

c
cnw 29 days ago

Give us a team SB of first through third choice players from this squad. Keen to understand who ABs might be facing.

S
Soliloquin 29 days ago

Some players who lost in the Top 14 QF barrages might still get selected for the Nations Championship, and others like Lucu or Penaud will get some rest time.

Only Wardi is among the QF losers in the front row, with 5 backs from Pau and La Rochelle.

For England A, and out of freshness, I would see:


Poirot-Massa-Montagne

Staniforth-Bochaton

Matiu-Gazzotti-Capilla

Jauneau-Despérès

Moefana-Depoortère

Ambadiang-Ferté

Attissogbé


Wardi-Martin-Setiano

Palu-Tixeront

Le Garrec-Hastoy-Arfeuil


(let most of UBB players rest)

S
SB 29 days ago

It will be interesting to see if certain guys end up making the final squad.


Ollivon, Penaud, Woki, Serin, Auradou, Gros, Jégou and Gailleton are all guys who could’ve been called up but haven’t.


Disappointed not to see Tatafu, perhaps he’s still injured.

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