2024-01-17 13:13:36
Unsurprisingly, the coach of the French XV Fabien Galthié revealed a list for the Six Nations Tournament very close to that selected for the World Cup. The failure in the quarterfinals against South Africa (28-29) therefore did not disrupt the plans of the management of the Blues, who, as we announced to you Tuesday evening, only invited six new players but changed captain, appointing Grégory Alldritt. Here are the figures to remember from this list of 34 players to prepare for the first match of the Tournament against Ireland, on February 2, in Marseille.
66% of globalists selected
66% of the players selected for the last World Cup (22 out of 33) are still on the roll. And again, the quota of globalists could have been higher without the absence of captain Antoine Dupont, mobilized by preparation for the Olympic Games, or the injuries of Jean-Baptiste Gros, Sipili Falatea Pierre Bourgarit and Thibaud Flament. In fact, only six participants in the World Cup were excluded by management choice.
Bastien Chalureau (sentenced on appeal to six months in prison suspended on Tuesday), Sekou Macalou, Baptiste Couilloud, Antoine Hastoy, Arthur Vincent and Gabin Villière are thus not retained. The same goes for Paul Willemse, injured for the World Cup but now operational.
26.6 years on average
This is undoubtedly the most telling statistic to illustrate the continuity chosen by Fabien Galthié. His group has an average age of 26 and a half years. Said like that, it’s not very telling, but the comparison with the first post-2019 World Cup list is striking: the average age was almost three years lower and was not even 24 years old. (23.9 years). The coach understood that common experience and experience take precedence at international level, and South Africa, with an average of 29.8 years, is the best example. At the end of this four-year cycle, the French could therefore post a similar average at the World Cup in Australia in 2027.
9 thirty-somethings
As a result of this continuity, the number of people in their thirties is also increasing significantly. While Bernard Le Roux, then aged 30, was the only one in this situation in January 2020 (in a list of 42), there are now nine, or 26% of the list (compared to 2% in 2020). Uini Atonio and Romain Taofifenua (33 years old) have decided to postpone their international retirement, while Maxime Lucu, Sébastien Taofifenua (31 years old), Dorian Aldegheri, Cyril Baille, Paul Gabrillagues, Charles Ollivon and Jonathan Danty (30 years old) complete this contingent . François Cros and Gaël Fickou, both born at the end of March 1994, will quickly join this club of thirty-somethings.
Nearly 22 selections on average
In the same logic, the average of selections per player has more than doubled compared to January 2020. While it was only 8, it now reaches 21.7 caps and could have been higher without the absences of Antoine Dupont (52 sel) and Romain Ntamack (36 sel). Already the most capped in 2020, Gaël Fickou (51 selections) remains the most experienced (85 selections), but there are now five to exceed 40 selections: Uini Atonio (57), Romain Taofifenua (49), Cyril Baille (47) , Damian Penaud (47) and the new captain Grégory Alldritt (45).
6 bizuths
Far from the 19 neophytes called up in 2020 (45% of the first list), there are only six newcomers this time, or 17% of the total. The second lines Matthias Halagahu (Toulon, 22 years old) and Emmanuel Meafou (Toulouse, 25 years old), the third line Esteban Abadie (Toulon, 26 years old), the scrum half Nolann Le Garrec (Racing 92, 22 years old), the opener Antoine Gibert (Racing 92, 26 years old) and center Nicolas Depoortère (Bordeaux-Bègles, 21 years old) are those concerned and could celebrate their first caps in this Tournament. Even if he has never played in blue, Le Garrec does not arrive in Marcoussis in unknown territory. The Racingman has already taken part in a few rallies and was even on the bench in Italy last year, but did not come into play.
Toulouse still the most represented
As is often the case, and despite the absence of its flagship player, Stade Toulouse is the most represented club with 9 players called up, including 7 forwards. The Bordeaux-Bègles Union follows with 6 representatives, exclusively from the backs. Racing 92 and La Rochelle (5 players) come behind. Cumulatively, the four semi-finalists from last season in San Sebastian (Spain) capture almost three-quarters of French internationals (74%) and will, in fact, be very impacted by the duplicates.
To a lesser degree, Toulon will also be affected (4 players), while Lyon only places the two Taofifenua brothers. Pau (Émilien Gailleton), Castres (Gaëtan Barlot) and Stade Français (Paul Gabrillagues) only have one player. Among the five clubs which do not place any players, we will notice Clermont, orphan of Penaud who left for UBB, or Montpellier, undermined by its catastrophic start to the season (last in Top 14).
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