France confirm Six Nations squad as Damian Penaud and Gaël Fickou miss out

The prolific winger recently became Les Bleus’ all-time leading try-scorer, moving past Serge Blanco’s long-standing record of 38 with a brace against South Africa in November to take his tally to 40.

Despite that milestone, the 29-year-old has missed out, alongside experienced centre Gaël Fickou and No.8 Grégory Alldritt.

Penaud has enjoyed another productive campaign, crossing the line eight times for club and country this season. At club level, he has continued to form a devastating wing partnership with Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who has already scored 18 tries this term.

A regular starter throughout the autumn Quilter Nations Series, Penaud has been the first-choice occupant of France’s No.14 jersey for much of the past five years. His 40 tries have come in just 59 Test appearances, underlining his importance to the national side. However, competition on the wing has intensified, with the emergence of 21-year-old Pau flyer Théo Attissogbe and Toulon’s Gaël Dréan influencing Galthié’s thinking.

Fickou’s omission is notable. The 31-year-old captained France against South Africa in November and sits just two caps short of becoming only the third Frenchman to reach 100 Test appearances, following Fabien Pelous and Philippe Sella.

The third surprising choice is the lack of La Rochelle No.8 Grégory Alldritt, given that just last year, he started every match of France’s Six Nations-winning campaign and was named in the Team of the Tournament after assuming the captaincy in the absence of the injured Antoine Dupont.

He also captained France on two occasions in November, which makes his omission from the squad all the more puzzling.

Penaud overtook Chris Ashton’s mark for the most tries in a single Champions Cup season in April when he scored against Munster in Bordeaux’s quarter-final win, taking his tally to 12. Penaud added two more in the final as Bordeaux defeated Northampton Saints 28–20 to lift their first-ever European trophy, finishing the campaign with a remarkable 14 tries and earning the Champions Cup Player of the Year award.

France begin their 2026 Six Nations campaign at home to Ireland at the Stade de France on Thursday, February 5, and will be concluding the tournament against England in Paris on March 14. Les Bleus are already managing several injury concerns, with Romain Ntamack expected to miss the opening two rounds.

Bordeaux scrum-half Maxime Lucu is also likely to be sidelined early in the competition with a knee injury, while Antoine Dupont’s other understudies, Nolann Le Garrec and Baptiste Jauneau, are also unavailable.

France are aiming to secure back-to-back Six Nations titles for the first time since 2007, but the absence of key figures could complicate that ambition.