Injury-hit France hand out debut against Fiji

Bayonne back-row Esteban Capilla is set to make his France debut on Saturday against Fiji in the Nations Championship in Lyon after being named on the bench by Fabien Galthie.

After Toulouse back-row Anthony Jelonch joined France’s sizeable injury list at the weekend after sustaining a head injury in the latest round of Top 14 action, Galthie has turned to the 23-year-old for France Sevens international as his back-row cover on the bench.

Jelonch is a member of a casualty list that includes Emmanuel Meafou, Thibaud Flament, Matthieu Jalibert and Thomas Ramos. In his absence, Francois Cros will start at No.8, with Cameron Woki and Paul Boudehent on either flank.

There are nevertheless plenty of star names in the team, with captain Antoine Dupont set to reprise his half-back partnership with club-mate Romain Ntamack in blue for the first time since March 2025. A series of injuries for the pair, as well as strategic rests, have prevented the duo from gracing the Test scene together.

Despite losing Meafou and Flament in the engine room, Galthie has stuck with four second-rows in his squad with a 6-2 split on the bench. Montpellier’s Florian Verhaeghe and Lyon’s Mickaël Guillard will start the match, with Charles Ollivon and Tom Staniforth chosen on the bench.

France XV: 15 Théo Attissogbe, 14 Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, 13 Kalvin Gourgues, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c); 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 3 Sipili Falatea, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 5 Mickaël Guillard, 6 Cameron Woki, 7 Paul Boudehent, 8 François Cros.
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Jefferson Poirot, 18 Régis Montagne, 19 Charles Ollivon, 20 Tom Staniforth, 21 Esteban Capilla, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Emilien Gailleton.