France loose forward Louis Picamoles has been ruled out of the tour to New Zealand in June because he needs to undergo surgery.
Earlier in the week, les Bleus were rocked by the news that influential scrum-half Maxime Machenaud and Fiji-born wing Virimi Vakatawa would miss the series against the world champions that will serve as important preparation for the Rugby World Cup.
Louis Picamoles, Maxime Machenaud and Virimi Vakatawa will all miss France’s June Tests against @AllBlacks. Machenaud has a knee injury, Vakatawa will have groin surgery in June. The French Rugby federation have not yet disclosed the nature of the injury to Picamoles.
— First XV 🏉 (@Rugbystuff) May 1, 2018
Machenaud is sidelined with a knee injury while Vakatawa is set for groin surgery in June. The French Rugby Federation have not as of yet disclosed the nature of the injury to Picamoles.
Head coach Jacques Brunel has called up Clermont loose forward Judicael Cancoriet to replace Montpellier’s Picamoles.