France Head Coach Fabien Galthie has announced his 42-man training squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
There are notable returnees within the squad, as fullback Brice Dulin and scrum half Baptiste Serin look set to make their comebacks for Les Bleus. Centre Arthur Vincent is also included, as a serious knee injury has kept the Montpellier star side-lined since September 2022.
Serin is an interesting call-up, as the halfback was not included in Galthie’s plans throughout the 2023 Six Nations. He joins up with three other scrum halves, as Galthie looks to find his second-in-command behind Antoine Dupont.
France commence their Rugby World Cup training camp on July 2nd in Monaco. Galthie’s men have a series of four warm-up matches before they host the Rugby World Cup, and take on the All Blacks in a thrilling opening contest on September 8th.
France have a busy Summer, with back-to-back home and away fixtures against Scotland, before taking on Fiji and Australia on home soil. Here is the squad that has been selected for the initial preparations, as Les Bleus look to win their first ever Rugby World Cup.
Props:Â Â Cyril Baille, Reda Wardi, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Uini Atonio, Dorian Aldegheri, Demba Bamba, Thomas Laclayat.
Hookers:Â Â Julien Marchand, Peato Mauvaka, Pierre Bourgarit
Second row:Â Â Cameron Woki, Thibeaud Flament, Romain Taofifenua, Paul Willemse, Bastien Chalureau, Florian Verhaeghe.
Back Row:Â Â Gregory Alldritt, Charles Ollivon, Francois Cros, Sekou Macalou, Paul Boudehent, Dylan Cretin, Yoan Tanga.
Scrum-half:Â Â Antoine Dupont, Maxime Lucu, Baptiste Couilloud, Baptiste Serin.
Fly-half:Â Â Romian Ntamack, Matthieu Jalibert, Antoine Hastoy.
Centers:Â Â Gael Fickou, Jonathan Danty, Yoram Moefana, Arthur Vincent, Emilien Gailleton.
Wingers/ Fullbacks:  Damien Penaud, Gabin Villière, Thomas Ramos, Melvyn Jaminet, Ethan Dumortier, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Brice Dulin.