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France lose Paul Willemse on eve of Rugby World Cup
By Ian Cameron
France have suffered yet another major blow with the union confirming that they have replaced outstanding second row Paul Willemse on the eve of the Rugby World Cup.
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It’s a bitter blow for head coach Fabien Galthie, who has already lost flyhalf Romain Ntamack, prop Cyril Baille and centre Jonathan Danty.
Galthie has called up Bastien Chalureau to replace Willemse, who could still take part in the tournament as a replacement should he recover from his injury whilst injury befalls one of his teammates. The 6’7, 135kg forward has suffered a tear to the quadriceps of the right thigh.
He has been added to the official reserves list for the tournament.
France kick off proceedings next Friday with a crunch game against the All Blacks at the Stade de France in Paris.
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Both Cooper and Hooper played in the diabolical loss to to the Boks in EJ’s first game back. Tbh Hooper looked like he was struggling in the last games of the SR competition; Cooper probably should Ben there at least as a mentor to Carter Gordon. But they are hardly controversial omissions given that both are well past their prime.
Go to commentsCan't see the ABs going through the front door without Frizzell or Finau - hope Blackadder can match Finau's form and that his body holds up. But their whole game is not based around this tactic so can't see how they will turn things around - the ABs are notorious for being inflexible and just repeat what they have trained even if it's not working. No space for individuality. Ireland, on the otherhand, have been training 4 years going through the front door, which is why they will win the WC barring any serious injuries....
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