Fabien Galthié and his staff revealed, this Wednesday morning, the composition of the French XV which will face Argentina this Friday (9:10 p.m.) at the Stade de France.
Four small changes and returns. But, overall, Fabien Galthié and his staff are banking on continuity compared to the victory against the All Blacks last Saturday (30-29), to face Argentina this Friday (9:10 p.m.).
If most of the changes made before New Zealand were forced, this time they are more choices. The choice to put back in the starting XV François Cros (33 sel.) in third row. The choice to bring back Win Anthony (62 sel.) after two matches spent in the infirmary for calf discomfort. But, above all, the choice to exclude from group one Grégory Damn it (51 sel.) lacking speed in recent weeks. No doubt out of breath and less impactful during his last outings, the third center line of La Rochelle is therefore left to rest against Argentina. It is a new member of the Blues from recent years who is temporarily sidelined during this November tour. It is therefore Charles Ollivon (45 selections), absent against Japan and replacing against the All Blacks, who takes number 8 for this Friday.
No change behind
Little surprise, too, at the back. If statuses are confirmed with Gabin Villière (17 sel.), who took advantage of the illness of Damian Penaud and the injury of Théo Attissogbé, and who continued with Louis Bielle-Biarrey (13 sel.) on the wings, just like the pair Yoram Moefana (30 cells.) – Gaël Fickou (92 cells.), Leo Barre (5 selections) returns to the starting XV. Despite a good performance from Romain Buros, the Parisian has returned as a starter since his match against Japan.
Unsurprisingly this time, Antoine Dupont (54 sel.) et Thomas Ramos (38 sel.) connect to the hinge, just like the hitch Flame (28 cells.)-New stuff (4 sel.) as well as Jean-Baptiste Gros (31 sel.) et Peato Mauvaka (36 sel.) on the front line.
The little novelty is on the bench. Without Grégory Alldritt, it is the young Bordeaux third row Marko Gazzotti who takes his place on the bench for the first time. He will have his first selection with the XV of France, after nine caps with the under-20s. The bench is still made up of six forwards, including Georges-Henri Colombe (4 sel.) despite his stomach virus last weekend, and two backs. With Marko Gazzotti, Alexandre Roumat (6 selections) is the only new feature on this bench compared to the match against New Zealand in which he started.
Also read:
Rugby – France-Argentina: Joaquín Oviedo and Ignacio Ruiz well present against the Blues with the Pumas
The composition of the XV of France: 15. Léo Barré – 14. Gabin Villière, 13. Gaël Fickou, 12. Yoram Moefana, 11. Louis Bielle-Biarrey – (o) 10. Thomas Ramos, (m) 9. Antoine Dupont (cap.) – 7. Paul Boudehent, 8. Charles Ollivon, 6. François Cros – 5. Emmanuel Meafou, 4. Thibaud Flament – 3. Uini Atonio, 2. Peato Mauvaka, 1. Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Substitutes: 16. Julien Marchand, 17. Reda Wardi, 18. Georges-Henri Colombe, 19. Alexandre Roumat, 20. Mickaël Guillard, 21. Marko Gazzotti, 22. Nolann Le Garrec, 23. Emilien Gailleton.
