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Thursday
12:00
Nations Championship

Rookie pair called up as injury problems mount for France

Toulouse's Irish lock Joshua Brennan is tackled during the French Top14 rugby union match between Stade Toulousain and Montpellier HR at the Ernest-Wallon stadium in Toulouse, south-western France, on September 27, 2026. (Photo by Matthieu RONDEL / AFP via Getty Images)
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1 Comment

Two more changes have been made to the French squad ahead of their Nations Championship match against Fiji, scheduled for this Saturday in Lyon.

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La Rochelle’s 6’7 lock Charles Kanté Samba and Lyon’s blindside forward Antoine Deliance have joined Les Bleus to prepare for the fixture, as replacements for Anthony Jelonch and Joshua Brennan.

Jelonch and Brennan were both injured over the weekend while playing in the Top 14 for Toulouse against Pau.

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Back-rower Jelonch had only been called up a week ago, as injury cover for Union Bordeaux Bègles’ Marko Gazzotti. His withdrawal backs up those, such as RugbyPass’ Gavin Mortimer, who questioned his selection in the first place, given he has barely played any rugby this season.

Former France U20 internationals Kanté Samba and Deliance are both 21 years of age and are uncapped at senior level. Both have been regulars in their respective club’s matchday 23s this season.

Since naming his original squad, head coach Fabien Galthié has seen his best-laid plans unravel. The weekend before last, after another bruising round of Top 14 action, he lost not only Gazzotti but also Fabien Brau-Boirie, Antoine Hastoy and Karl Sorin to injury.

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1 Comment
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EvilMockingJay 1 hr ago

To be fair Jelonch was not exactly going to play against Fidji. It was more about being in the group. I can be wrong, but it’s most likely the 23 he kept with him. Deliance and Kante Samba won’t play unless there is ANOTHER injury before the match.

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Comments on RugbyPass

O
Orcs on Steroids 55 minutes ago
Springbok Women lose ground in World Rugby rankings after second Ireland loss

Much improved first 69 mins from SA Women in 2nd Test compared to 1st Test until the Yellow Card in the 69th min combined with SA's lack of 'Elite Level Conditioning' threw the floodgates open for IRE to score 3 unanswered Tries in the last 11 mins. Too many missed tackles; 79% Completion Rate vs 93% for IRE & bad goal-kicking yet again; 33% vs 67% for IRE which needs to be addressed along with better discipline & conditioning if SA wants to really improve & move up the World Rankings!

3 Go to comments
E
EvilMockingJay 1 hour ago
Rookie pair called up as injury problems mount for France

To be fair Jelonch was not exactly going to play against Fidji. It was more about being in the group. I can be wrong, but it’s most likely the 23 he kept with him. Deliance and Kante Samba won’t play unless there is ANOTHER injury before the match.

1 Go to comments
H
Henrik 1 hour ago
'Pretty obvious' that England 'haven’t adjusted' to Test rugby changes

it is most likely that the three best teams (RSA, NZL and FRA) will be in one half, whilst England will be in the way easier other …. not sure they will have the same luck in 2031 …. so if they fail to bring a proper unit next year, it will be a missed opportunity

8 Go to comments
H
Henrik 1 hour ago
Rassie Erasmus unveils established Springboks side for Italy battle in Turin

maybe the “A”-Team in the tests against Italy (“warm-up” sort of), France and Ireland and the “B”-Team as an “F-U” in the Nations Championship finals

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T
Tony D. 1 hour ago
Springbok Women lose ground in World Rugby rankings after second Ireland loss

USA women beat Ireland, in Ireland and yet still rank lower. Brilliant

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f
fl 2 hours ago
England forced into squad changes amid scrum-half injury crisis

Almost unbelievable that McParland still won't be making his debut, and Mitchell's a huge loss, but if Randall is 5th choice then that's some decent depth.

1 Go to comments
c
cnw 2 hours ago
Why the UK tour is so important in the All Blacks' quest to rebuild their aura

No doubt - but query still whether that is the right balance for the ABs loose trio. Ardie’s strength is his explosive speed and extraordinary ability to either break the line or offload, particularly in the outside channels. Lakai shares these same attributes - he is really a younger version of Ardie. Neither of them are however genuine carriers into heavy contact like Sititi. His ability to draw and power through multiple defenders is the best of all the loose forwards. He creates the opportunities for players like Lakai and Ardie to exploit the gaps left by him in the defensive line. For this reason I think Sititi is a must in the starting XV - and an important element of the success of this team in the Bledisloe. I also think it was missed, alongside SB and Vaa’i in the RGR. But I query whether his type of power is what is needed in the last 35 where the game has opened up, and the Ardie / Lakai explosiveness is so important. I think if Sititi can continue to build on what he did in the Bledisloe, he will be hard to leave out of the starting XV next year.

70 Go to comments
u
unknown 2 hours ago
Springbok Women lose ground in World Rugby rankings after second Ireland loss

I felt that they had two very poor games against Ireland. They were always improving under Swys but have definitely taken a few steps back wards. The standard of the game was really poor. International players should not be making so many basic errors. Disappointing!

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J
JW 2 hours ago
Why the UK tour is so important in the All Blacks' quest to rebuild their aura

The lineout and use of Vaai has been pretty bad for sure. Tough opponents but its no longer dominant.

70 Go to comments
J
JW 2 hours ago
Why the UK tour is so important in the All Blacks' quest to rebuild their aura

If you think the best 8’s in Super aren’t going to be rewarded with starting jersey, and that Savea is already a lock next year due to his captaincy status (the strongest reason to lock him in) then you don’t have a good opinion of Rennie obviously.

70 Go to comments
T
Tom 3 hours ago
Jordie could join in Barrett triple whammy exit post Rugby World Cup

All three to Bristol please

1 Go to comments
J
JW 3 hours ago
‘Bit like my debut’: The 2am wake-up that led Richie Mo’unga back to All Blacks

That’s not really sad, whats sad is how desperate he is for it when there are younger options out there he should be using.

Not too late at all. Love and Dmac would be one of the worlds best double combo’s to go into a WC with, Mounga on a lifeline if needed is more than enough backup.



...

5 Go to comments
J
JW 3 hours ago
‘Bit like my debut’: The 2am wake-up that led Richie Mo’unga back to All Blacks

Why didn’t he just call him back? Could have got some sleep.

And why is Rennie pushing the limits like this? Razor 101.



...

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S
Steppin 3 hours ago
Why the UK tour is so important in the All Blacks' quest to rebuild their aura

Good post, PMcD. I think the lineout will turn around with more cohesion - assuming Taylor is hooker, Barrett at 4 and Holland (or Lord) at 5.

70 Go to comments
E
EdHead 3 hours ago
Jack Dempsey: ‘Facing New Zealand is the same for me as the Scottish guys against England. You just go to another level.’

What level is that? The scotch are 29 games behind England in the series.

1 Go to comments
E
Ed the Duck 4 hours ago
'It is a funny time': Struggling Ulster to go back to drawing board during URC break

Horlicks Eric! The irfu need to revisit their policy of putting far too many eggs in the Leinster basket. Ulster desperately need a pack worthy of the name and that costs. Wonder how much they’ve just coughed up to buy out NM’s (newly signed) UBB contact??

Neither Ulster, nor Connacht (and to an extent Munster) are getting a fair crack at the whip in a fruitless pursuit of a fifth star. A fifth star that Toulouse have long since overtaken anyway…



...

2 Go to comments
E
Ed the Duck 4 hours ago
Munster issue pointed statement in response to Tadhg Furlong verdict

“The URC has said that a “full written summary explaining the Independent Disciplinary Committee’s decision will follow as soon as reasonably practicable.”

Must have been a sudden shortage of paper, ink and working printer in Dublin…? 🤣



...

69 Go to comments
S
SC 5 hours ago
Why the UK tour is so important in the All Blacks' quest to rebuild their aura

The day Savea is healthy, Sititi will be dropped to the bench and Savea will be installed as the starting 8 as Rennie WILL start his captain.

70 Go to comments
S
SC 5 hours ago
Why the UK tour is so important in the All Blacks' quest to rebuild their aura

The best we can hope for with Savea as captain is 6 Vaa’i, 7 Lakai, 8 Savea, 19 Segner, 20 Sititi, 21 Fainga’anuka on a 6-2 bench.

70 Go to comments
S
SC 5 hours ago
Why the UK tour is so important in the All Blacks' quest to rebuild their aura

You are overly generous in your evaluation of both the All Blacks scrum and lineout; they have both declined in effectiveness under Rennie.

The scrum gives up far too many put-ins on opposition put-in and the All Blacks cannot win penalties on their own put-in.



...

70 Go to comments
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