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Felix Lambey the big omission as France unveil World Cup squad

By Tom Vinicombe
Romain Ntamack, Guilhem Guirado and Antoine Dupont.

France head coach Jacques Brunel has named his 31-man squad to travel to Japan to challenge for the World Cup and there are a few surprise omissions.

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Les Bleus have been carrying a 37-man squad for the recent World Cup warm-up matches against Scotland and Italy. Six of those players have now been culled for the narrowed-down squad.

The squad is:

Forwards: Jefferson Poirot, Rabah Slimani, Demba Bamba, Emerick Setiano, Cyril Baille, Guilhem Guirado (captain), Camille Chat, Peato Mauvaka, Sebastien Vahaamahina, Paul Gabrillagues, Arthur Iturria, Bernard Le Roux, Gregory Alldritt, Charles Ollivon, Louis Picamoles, Yacouba Camara, Wenceslas Lauret.

Backs: Antoine Dupont, Baptiste Serin, Maxime Machenaud, Camille Lopez, Romain Ntamack, Gael Fickou, Wesley Fofana, Sofiane Guitoune, Virimi Vakatawa, Yoann Huget, Alivereti Raka, Damian Penaud, Maxime Medard, Thomas Ramos.

Anthony Belleau, Vincent Rattez, Dany Priso, Romain Taofifenua, François Cros and Félix Lambey have all had their World Cup dreams cut short after the latest team announcement.

Whilst some of the omissions shouldn’t shock anyone – Belleau and Rattez didn’t feature at all in France’s three warm-ups to date – some will come as a bit of a surprise.

Priso was competing with Cyril Baille for a spot in the team in the front row but the slightly more experienced prop looks to have secured the role. Baille looked hungry off the bench in his two opportunities in the recent tests.

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Second-rowers Taofifenua and Lambey have missed on selection to the likes of specialists Paul Gabrillagues and Sébastien Vahaamahina as well as utility forward Arthur Iturria.

Lambey’s absence is a big surprise given how influential the Lyon lock was during the Six Nations earlier this year. There’s also the small issue of Gabrillagues’ three-week ban (reduced from the six weeks initially handed out) which will see him miss France’s opening match of the World Cup, against Argentina.

Brunel will evidently be relying on his locks to shoulder a heavy load throughout the World Cup, where they are placed in the ‘Pool of Death’ with Argentina and England.

Les Bleus were poor in this year’s Six Nations competition, finishing with wins over Scotland and Italy but losing their remaining three matches against teams which will mount serious challenges for the World Cup.

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Still, France always tend to show up at World Cups and have made the second-equal most semi-final appearances, alongside Australia, with six to their name. Only three-time champions New Zealand have managed seven semi-final appearances from eight tournaments to date.

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Bull Shark 1 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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