2023-08-14 13:10:31
By Arnaud Coudry
Posted 1 hour ago, Updated 2 minutes ago
Thomas Ramos, Matthieu Jalibert, Antoine Hastoy. Panoramic
After Romain Ntamack’s injury package, the Blues staff have several options to replace him on the pitch.
The huge blow of bamboo for the XV of France. Romain Ntamack, touched Saturday against Scotland (30-27), is forfeited for the World Cup which begins in a month. The Toulousain suffers from a rupture of the cruciate ligament of the left knee. The tricolor staff, who had minimized his injury after the match in Saint-Étienne, will have to compose without his number 1 opener, the one who had chained tenures for three years and participated, in particular, in the Grand Slam in 2022.
What replacement solutions do Fabien Galthié and his assistants now have? Logic would dictate that it is Matthieu Jalibert (Bordeaux-Bègles), usual understudy of “NTK”, who recovers the torch and takes control of the XV of France. The Girondin opener has a more playful and less managerial profile than the recent French champion. And has real experience in Blue with 24 selections (including 13 tenures).
Read alsoXV of France: “I’ll be back”, positive a Romain Ntamack in Terminator mode after his withdrawal from the World Cup
Another consequence, Antoine Hastoy (La Rochelle), third opening half of the group of 42 players selected for the preparation, will surely win – in turn – his ticket for the World Cup. The Rochelais comes out of an accomplished season with the Maritimes, he was one of the strong men of the club’s second European title at the caravel. At his flow, a lesser experience. The former Palois has only three selections (including only one tenure) for only 96 minutes of play in the blue jersey.
Ramos more opener than back?
However, the staff has another alternative. As was the case on Saturday at Geoffroy-Guichard. When Romain Ntamack left the field, it was the young winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey (Bordeaux-Bègles), who entered the field at the back and Thomas Ramos, who had started the match in 15, had slipped at the back. ‘opening. In the eyes of the staff of the Blues, Ramos is considered a versatile full-back. He is above all the regular scorer of the Blues, reliable and decisive against the poles, as evidenced by his 15 points at 100% in Saint-Étienne.
Read also Rugby World Cup: with Romain Ntamack’s package, the XV of France loses more than one player
If Thomas Ramos were, in the future, to be considered more as an opening half, it would reshuffle the cards for number 15 in the France team. Currently, Ramos is the undisputed number 1 back, but behind him are Brice Dulin (La Rochelle), uneasy in the first game in Edinburgh, and Melvyn Jaminet (Toulouse), the only player in the group of 42 to not having played a single minute of play in two test matches.
Players on stand-by who will have a good chance of being called upon during the competition…
Fabien Galthie
It now remains to be seen how Fabien Galthié will recompose his group of 33 players for the World Cup, after this huge blow. After the third of four preparation matches, Saturday (9:05 p.m.) in Nantes against Fiji, the French coach will announce his reduced group for the World Cup next Monday. Unless he recalls another player currently out of the group. Which seems unlikely. But Fabien Galthié has not stopped repeating it in recent weeks: “There will be players on stand-by who will have a good chance of being called upon during the competition…»
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