RWC 2023: Examining France Rugby World Cup training squad
France will aim to lift the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time later this year with Fabien Galthie declaring the 42 men nominated to prepare for the Rugby World Cup 2023. With Antoine Dupont leading the side, France’s rugby team claimed Grand Slam glory in 2022, before finishing second in the 2023 Guinness Six Nations.
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Over the last four years, they have crushed every team they have played at least once, including the world’s top ten. Now the clock is marking ahead of a France Rugby World Cup on home soil. So with a training camp set for the start of July in Monaco, what are the big decisions facing Galthie and his training staff before trimming the group to 33?
Can the kids break into the Rugby World Cup Final team?
The presence of Emilien Gailleton and Louis Bielle-Biarrey was not much of a tremor, given that Under-20s coach Sebastien Calvet had already clarified their absence from France’s Under-20s World Cup squad was due to senior promises. Both Pau centre Gailleton, who ended as the Top 14’s top try-scorer in his first season of top-flight rugby, and Bordeaux winger or full-back Bielle-Biarrey, were part of wider French groups during the Six Nations training.
Neither has been capped yet but such has been their growth over the season, it would be a wonder if they did not feature at some point in the Summer Series. In the midfield, if Gael Fickou and Jonathan Danty seem to be certain presences in the squad, Gailleton’s nose for the try-line, and ability to cover wing, could see him challenge Yoram Moefana and Arthur Vincent with likely two of the three making the final team for RWC.
For Bielle-Biarrey, it may be more complex. If France goes with five back three players, then Damian Penaud, Thomas Ramos and Gabin Villiere should all make it, if the latter proves his fitness after an injury-hit season. That leaves Ethan Dumortier, an advanced performer in the Six Nations and full-backs Brice Dulin and Melvyn Jaminet, both starters at one point during Galthie’s time in control, battling Bielle-Biarrey for two positions.
RWC 2023: The arrival of the old-timers
France’s last-gasp downfall to Scotland in the 2021 Guinness Six Nations was the last time two men played for France’s rugby side full-back Brice Dulin and scrum-half Baptiste Serin. The latter wasted the affected conclusion, as he was in the sin-bin for a run of French breaches. The former made the costly error at the end in failing to get the ball off the pitch with France in the lead but unable to reach the points difference they needed to overhaul Wales and take the title.
After two years out, both are back in the fold and now fighting for a space at the Rugby World Cup. Serin started the World Cup cycle as Dupont’s backup, but will now have to pass Maxime Lucu, tiled as Galthie’s ideal closer, or Baptiste Couilloud, perhaps the closest in profile to Dupont. In some ways, Serin is a mixture of the two, a game boss who also has the essential spark if he starts.
In a position where the ladder is currently firmly in place, he needs to take his Toulon form back to the Test side. Meanwhile, Dulin has been brilliant for La Rochelle as they came greatly close to winning the double. His strategic kicking game and ability under the high ball were to the fore as he looks to return to the RWC stage eight years after playing at the 2015 edition.
Unlike Ramos and Jaminet, his lack of goal-kicking is a drawback, but his recall was well-deserved on form and he has earlier experience of coming back when his Test profession appeared to be over. Rugby fans can book RWC Tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.
Proving fitness for France Rugby World Cup
The group features two players who have not played for France in more than a year in Arthur Vincent and Gabin Villiere in fact, Vincent last played globally in the summer of 2021. Injuries have delimited them to two and four club attendances this season but both men have done plenty to prove they are ready for the weight of a RWC 2023 training regime. Valliere’s last France cap came in the Grand Slam game against England, and if fit.
He has a good chance of starting on the wing for the opener against New Zealand. In the two years since Vincent last played, there has been a lot of movement, but he was a regular in the matchday 23 under Galthie before his knee issues and can cover both centre places and wing as he did in the 2022 Top 14 final. While Vincent and Villiere are in, two notable omissions were Anthony Jelonch and Sipili Falatea.
The Toulouse back-rower tore his anterior cruciate tendon against Scotland in February but is ahead of schedule in his salvage. If he can prove his suitability, Galthie will be anxious to include him. Meanwhile, Falatea was trustworthy as the favoured option off the bench at tighthead prop but suffered a knee injury in the Top 14 semi-finals that now has him side-lined. With four tightheads in the RWC squad, and only Uini Atonio looking certain of a spot, it is one of the places in greatest flux.
Rugby World Cup 2023: Value of flexibility
One common theme for France under Galthie has been the value sited on versatility, whether that is centres shifting to the wing, back rows moving to lock, or even flanker Sekou Macalou playing big minutes in the three-quarters. That will be even more significant in the RWC 2023, where a 33-man squad will rapidly feel very small in case of minor injuries.
It is for that reason that the likes of Gailleton and Bielle-Biarrey will hope to force their way into an argument. While Thomas Ramos’ ability to play fly-half at the highest level could mean just two fly-halves make the final group. Similarly, there are several players in the back five of the scrum who are comfortable moving around, and hooker Peato Mauvaka has even played as a flanker and No.8.
That will be worth keeping an eye on during the Summer Series, to see if Galthie has more trials up his sleeve, particularly with his liking for benches featuring six forwards and two backs. We are offering Rugby World Cup Tickets Rugby admirers can get RWC Tickets through our trusted online ticketing marketplace. Worldwide tickets and hospitality are the most reliable source to book France Rugby World Cup tickets. Sign up for the latest Ticket alert.
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