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France dealt injury blow ahead of Six Nations opener against England

By Online Editors
France hooker Camille Chat

France have been dealt a major blow ahead of their opening Guinness Six Nations clash against England with the news that hooker Camille Chat will miss the game through injury.

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France are currently holding a training camp in Nice as they fine-tune their preparations for Sunday’s game at the Stade de France.

However, head coach Fabien Galthié will now have to plan without Chat, 24, after the Racing hooker sustained a calf injury.

Chat will be replaced by Racing teammate Teddy Baubigny in the squad, with Toulouse’s Julien Marchand now expected to start against the beaten World Cup finalists.

France are currently in a period of transition following the departure of head coach Jacques Brunel after the World Cup, with his successor, Galthié, putting an emphasis on youth in his Six Nations squad.

This Six Nations could see potential debuts could be beckoning for Montpellier’s Mohamed Haouas, Racing 92’s Boris Palu, Lyon’s Dylan Cretin and Clermont’s Alexandre Fischer in the pack, while only Bernard Le Roux and Jefferson Poirot boast over 30 international caps for Les Bleus.

Charles Ollivon has taken on the captaincy following the retirement of Guilhem Guirado.

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Bull Shark 2 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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