Galthie backs yet more youth to topple All Blacks, dropping two 50-cap veterans

If you develop players for the first squad, they get to be ready for the first squad. If you solely try to play out your best XV, as said by takata, you’ll be lucky to have them all for at least 2 games. So imagine that for the 10 games of the RWC with preparation tests.

For players who were part of the 2022 or 2025 6 Nations victorious teams, Moefana, Woki, Villière revealed themselves in the Autumn Nations Cup in 2020, Jaminet, Jelonch, Barlot in Australia in 2021, Guillard, Gailleton, Attissogbe (and unfortunately Jégou and Auradou) in Argentina in 2024.

In Japan in 2022, because Toulouse, UBB, Toulon and La Rochelle didn’t get to the Top14 final, there were more first team players, with some of them being players returning from serious injuries like Ollivon.

And yet, they played quite poorly.

I don’t remember who was telling the story, but a young coach met with the old one who told him: “Write down your first team on paper, look at it, it feels good, but you’ll never be able to play it on the pitch”.

World cup is a 10 match marathon if you include the preparation matches. You are going to lose 5 to 10 of your best players in the process, and you want to have substitutes ready, in particular in the latest stages of the competition.

This is exactly how some players like Attissogbe and others playing in Australia or Argentina became key players of the French squad

Halagahu is Wallisian, so apart from a very unlikely move to another country and getting eligibility after a few years, I can’t see how.

Mathias Halagahu was born in Frejus, not far from Toulon, in 2001.

Villiere had several bad defensive reads. I’m sure ABs coaches spotted that as well.

Or maybe he’s seen how tired he was, as well as Guillard, Fischer or Tixeront, and decided to have them rest before to be fit for the 3rd game.

UBB fan? What was/would have been better, Chamions Cup or Brennus? 😊 sorry

Isn’t Barack the one taking time with Chocobares?

Depth for years

Any side can name a so called development squad. Not sure how this helps France in the future. Come the pointy end of the WC you have 30 French guys who havnt toured together for years and havnt played rugby beyond top 14 for that year

hardly a no consequence tour; if they go down 0-3 it cancels all the French wins against New Zealand back to 2009!

Full strength ABs? Pretty experimental if you ask me. New combos at lock, loosies, midfield, back 3, bench, both teams building depth, five newbies (6 in total). And several injuries to boot.

The biggest selection difference is the season cycles imo. We’re building up so change needs to be somewhat measured. While FRA is winding down at the end of a very long season & needs to manage workload.

Still not a full strength team mate. They are missing Barrett, Williams, Jacobson, Sititi, Reece, and Lomax, which is nearly half the team.

Not sure he’s going to get away with it, rumour has it nb is rounding up a posse to form a welcoming committee for their return to Marcoussis… 🥊 💥🤕