When Fabien Galthié named his initial France squad for the upcoming Six Nations there were two comeback kings among the 42 players selected. One, fly-half Romain Ntamack, was expected to feature, but the other was a blast from the distant past.
Rabah Slimani won the last of his 57 caps at the 2019 World Cup, and last summer he left Clermont after seven years and joined Leinster. It was a good move for the tight-head, first capped by France in 2013. His timing in quitting Stade Français for Clermont was unfortunate; Clermont had been one of the dominant clubs in Europe in the 2010s but their form has dipped in recent seasons.
Slimani decided to head to Leinster to see out his career in style, never imagining it would lead to a Test recall after five and a half years in the wilderness. “I’ve re-discovered the desire to play rugby,” he said in an interview last week. “Here, my mind is freer. And they trust me.”
In the short time he’s been at Leinster, Slimani said his game has “evolved”, particularly in the loose, a facet of his game that has never been as strong as his principal asset – his prowess in the scrum.

Slimani is also the beneficiary of a slew of injuries that have decimated Galthié’s pool of props. Uini Atonio, Reda Wardi, Demba Bamba, Sipili Falatea and Tevita Tatafu are injured (Atonio has still been named in the squad), and Jean-Baptiste Gros and Cyril Baille have only just returned to action after lengthy spells on the sidelines: six months in the case of Baille. Two other Top 14 props, Mohamed Haouas and Wilfrid Hounkpatin, are unlikely to ever play for France again after convictions for domestic violence.
So Slimani is recalled to the colours, along with Ntamack, last seen in a French shirt in August 2023. The cruciate ligament he ruptured in his left knee in the World Cup warm-up match against Scotland ruled him out for nine months; then, shortly before last November’s internationals, Ntamack tore his calf muscle.
Since the arrival of my son, I’ve come to matches with a real zest for life. Rugby is my passion, my job, but it’s just a sport.
In an interview with Midi Olympique recently, Ntamack described the frustration of the last 18 months. “I’ve realised one thing: when you’re no longer called up, you really appreciate what the French national team represents,” he said. “Playing for your country is huge. I know how beautiful that jersey is and how lucky I am to pull it on.”
But the misfortune on the rugby field has been offset by the birth of his first child in the summer of 2024. “Since the arrival of my son, I’ve come to matches with a real zest for life,” said Ntamack. “Rugby is my passion, my job, but it’s just a sport. We’re there to enjoy ourselves and give people pleasure, and then we’ll see what happens at the end. There are far more important things.”
Ntamack then added with a smile that fatherhood had not in any way lessened his competitive streak and his “thirst to win”.

He did a lot of that for France before his injury. An ever-present in the 2022 Grand Slam side, Ntamack was at the heart of France’s 14-match winning streak that ran from November 2021 until they lost to Ireland in the 2023 championship.
Since then the well-oiled machine that Galthié had constructed post-Covid has spluttered; knocked out of the World Cup by South Africa in the quarter-finals, the French had a mediocre Six Nations in 2024, on the receiving end of a hammering by Ireland, drawing with Italy and edging out Scotland and England by the thinnest of margins. And it was one of their favourable fixture lists.
If France break with tradition and win the Six Nations in an odd year it will be with a squad composed predominantly from Europe’s two most dominant clubs
This year France are away to Ireland, Italy and England. They’ve only ever won one Six Nations title in an odd year: 2007. The Bleus prefer the even years when England and Ireland have to travel to Paris; hence why their Grand Slams have come in 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2022.
If France do break with tradition and win the Six Nations in an odd year it will be with a squad composed predominantly from Europe’s two most dominant clubs this season, Toulouse and Bordeaux, who have been annihilating allcomers in the Champions Cup. Toulouse have 13 players in the group of 42, and Bordeaux eight. Many are nailed on to start: Antoine Dupont, Ntamack, Thomas Ramos, Francois Cros, Thibaud Flament, Damian Penaud, Louis Bielle-Biarrey (provided he’s recovered from an ear complaint) and at hooker one of the Toulouse pair of Julien Marchand or Peato Mauvaka.
In the centre the in-form Toulouse 13, Pierre-Louis Barassi, is tipped to partner Bordeaux’s Yoram Moefana. The hard-running 26-year-old was first capped in the 2019 World Cup, and won a second against England in the final of the Autumn Nations Cup the following year. His third and final cap to date was on the tour to Australia in 2021 and in 2022 he moved from Lyon to Toulouse.

As he admits, it took a season to adapt to the high standards set by head coach Ugo Mola. Barassi is now fulfilling his potential, as he showed in scoring twice against Exeter in their 64-21 December thrashing of the Chiefs in the Champions Cup. Mola called Barassi’s performance “remarkable”, adding; “Pierre-Louis has had his difficulties, he’s had a hard time putting in performances worthy of the name with us. We’re pleased because, quite frankly, he’s working hard and not giving up.”
Centre is one area where the French are strong – even without veteran Gael Fickou, who will miss the start of the Six Nations because of a broken thumb. Similarly, they have such riches at scrum-half that they can afford to omit Baptiste Serin, who gave Harlequins the runaround last week in the Champions Cup.
The days when the English pack terrified opponents are long gone. These days it’s Frenchmen who put the frighteners on England.
Aside from prop, the other area of concern for France is in the back row. Charles Ollivon is out for the season after rupturing knee ligaments against Quins, and Toulouse No.8 Alexandre Roumat is expected to miss the first couple of matches with injury. Gregory Alldritt, outstanding during the Grand Slam season, has been – in the words of Galthié – “lacking pep” for a few months and was dropped for the November Test against Argentina. Anthony Jelonch is also struggling to recapture the form that made him one of the best loose forwards earlier in the decade, and was replaced in the squad on Monday without any reason given by the FFR.
Galthié has named among his back-row options the inexperienced trio of Marko Gazzotti, Oscar Jegou and Esteban Abadie, who boast between them three caps.
France should beat Wales in Paris a week on Friday to make it six consecutive Six Nations victories against the Welsh – who had won seven of the previous eight – and then it’s England at Twickenham, where two years ago they put 53 points on their hosts.
France will be favourites for Le Crunch even if they are depleted in the front row. The days when the English pack terrified opponents are long gone. These days it’s Frenchmen who put the frighteners on England.
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