France revise squad for Nations Championship as Top 14 casualties mount

Two weeks out from the start of next month’s Nations Championship, Fabien Galthié has been forced to make four changes to the Les Bleus squad after injuries to Section Paloise’s Fabien Brau-Boirie, Stade Rochelais’ Antoine Hastoy and Karl Sorin, and Union Bordeaux Bègles’ Marko Gazzotti.

The four were the latest injury victims following another intense round in the Top 14, prompting France’s head coach to call up UBB’s Nicolas Depoortère, Castres Louis Le Brun, Section Paloise’s Thomas Laclayat and Stade Toulousain’s Anthony Jelonch as replacements.

Among the reported injuries, Fabien Brau-Boirie’s is the most concerning; the centre left the field clutching his knee and is now awaiting further examinations to confirm the extent of the damage.

The reigning Six Nations champions had already been hit by a wave of injuries to key players; notably, Matthieu Jalibert, Thomas Ramos, and Demba Bamba were ruled out from November with serious injuries that will keep them sidelined until late December.

Jalibert, who played a vital role in the Six Nations and the July window of the Nations Championship, sustained an injury on 20 September when UBB faced Stade Français, with the fly-half coming off 14 minutes into the game.

As for the new faces, Castres fly-half Louis Le Brun is one of the players yet to earn a cap for France.

Depoortère was in the July travelling squad but made only a 14-minute cameo against the All Blacks before missing out on the next two games. The Bordeaux centre now has another chance to earn Galthié’s trust one year from the Rugby World Cup.

Concerning Jelonch, the back-rower, had started in four of France’s five Six Nations matches, but following a below-par performance against Scotland, he was dropped from the squad and ultimately missed the tour to the Southern Hemisphere and Japan in July.

Finally, prop Thomas Laclayat hasn’t been called up to the French national team since November 2025; he now has the chance to add to his three caps.

France will host Fiji on the opening weekend of July, then face the four-time World Champions, South Africa, on the 14th, before wrapping up the pool stages of the Nations Championship against Argentina on the 21st.

They currently lead the Northern Hemisphere pool with 12 points, and despite the absences they have had to deal with,  Galthié’s goal is to reach the final of the competition in its debut year.