33 players have been chosen to play with the XV of France throughout the Rugby World Cup. Here is the list.
33 players in search of a title of world champion. Fabien Galthié and the staff of the XV of France have selected for the World Cup those who, in their eyes, are the best French players, likely to go to the end of the competition and to offer the nation a first world title, moreover at home. For this competition prepared since the end of June, the coach relies on the senior players of his mandate, which began four years ago, adding a touch of youth given the potential or by force of circumstance (Roman Ntamack package) . All positions have been doubled, the pillars and hookers even being tripled. Here is the list of the 33 players, position by position.
- Left pillars : Cyril Baille, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Reda Wardi
- Straight pillars : Dorian Aldegheri, Uini Atonio, Sipili Falatea.
- hookers : Pierre Bourgarit, Julien Marchand, Peato Mauvaka.
- 2nd line : Thibaud Flament, Paul Willemse, Cameron Woki, Romain Taofifenua.
- 3rd line : Grégory Alldritt, Paul Boudehent, François Cros, Anthony Jelonch, Sekou Macalou, Charles Ollivon.
- Scrum half : Antoine Dupont, Maxime Lucu, Baptiste Couilloud.
- Opening half : Antoine Hastoy, Mathieu Jalibert.
- Centers : Gael Fickou, Jonathan Danty, Yoram Moefana, Arthur Vincent.
- Wingers : Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Damian Penaud, Gabin Villiere
- Rears : Melvin Jaminet, Thomas Ramos.
For Fabien Galthié, the announcement of the list of 33 players selected was a non-event. In his eyes, it was even a question of reversing things and not stopping on the selected and the discarded. “The idea is to build a group that will be cut off by several players,” he explained after the match against Fiji. Above all, the coach said that everyone already knew their situation: “If we waited until Sunday (August 20, editor’s note) to make the list, that would mean that we would not have done anything for 4 years. No. We try to work in a way coherent and each player roughly knows his position, each player was able to exchange and read through these exchanges our potential decision.
Who says selected players, says injured clubs. While all those selected evolve in the Top 14, some teams see more of their members wearing the colors of the XV of France compared to their opponents. And as so often, Stade Toulouse is the most represented with 10 players for the Blues. The reigning French champion therefore alone represents a third of the tricolor group during this World Cup. Seven other stables are also represented. The details, club by club:
- Toulouse : Baille, Aldegheri, Marchand, Mauvaka, Flament, Cros, Jelonch, Dupont, Jaminet, Ramos
- La Rochelle : Wardi, Atonio, Bourgarit, Alldritt, Boudehent, Hastoy, Danty
- Bordeaux-Bègles : Falatea, Lucu, Moefana, Bielle-Biarrey, Penaud
- Toulon : Gros, Ollivon, Villiere
- Racing 92 : Woki, Jalibert, Fickou
- Montpellier : Willemse, Vincent
- Lyons : Taofifenua, Couilloud
- French stadium : Macalou
Note however that the Top 14 will not play during the World Cup. The championship will not resume its rights until October 29, 2023, during the 4th day of the competition. With or without the internationals? Everything will depend on the course of the XV of France. If the Blues are world champions (final on Saturday October 28), they could not be back until the end of November or the beginning of December, a rest period requires… before leaving to prepare for the Six Nations Tournament.