With what composition will the XV of France face Wales next Friday? At the time of writing these lines, we know it somewhat, even if questions remain in the 2nd, 3rd line and on the state of form of Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
XV of FRANCE. The temptation Joshua Brennan in number 4: between fighting spirit and automatisms
Elsewhere, Peato Mauvaka should once again start at tailback after his excellent performances during the last autumn tour. But Julien Marchand (again) begins to knock more and more loudly on the door of number 2.
29 starts in 30 matches
As a reminder, despite two starts at the end of the 2024 Tournament to breathe a breath of fresh air into a team then plagued by doubt, the Haut-Pyrénées has essentially been a finisher for a year and a half. And this in selection as well as in club.
On the eve of the 2023 World Cup, injured in the thigh at the start of the match against the All Blacks, he lost his place to Peato Mauvaka, and his unique profile for a hooker. Place that he never really regained, between injuries and Dantesque performances from his (healthy) competitor.
-6 NATIONS. Can Flament's package also reshuffle the cards in the 3rd line and on the bench?
However, between 2020 and 2023, “Ju” had made 29 starts out of his first 30 caps under the Galthié era. Before being a substitute six times out of eight since.
But the 29-year-old hooker has come back very strongly in recent weeks and seems to want to “go for the jersey” again, as Fabien Galthié likes to say. Thanks to his newfound punch and activity, will he succeed during the Tournament? In Toulouse, he was in any case a starter in 2 of the 4 Champions Cup matches, for a real sharing of playing time.
And since the red and black club and the French team have often been closely linked in recent years…
