France name squad For England A clash

France head coach Fabien Galthie has named a Bordeaux-Begles-heavy squad for Friday’s non-cap international against England A in Vannes.

Nine players from the Champions Cup-winning side have been included, while several Top 14 semi-finalists have been left out of consideration.

France Name Squad For England A Fixture

Galthié has selected his squad for the warm-up match against England A, with the fixture set to take place in Vannes on Friday.

Players from Toulouse, Racing 92, Stade Francais and Montpellier have not been considered because of their involvement in the Top 14 semi-finals. Bordeaux-Begles missed out on the domestic play-offs, allowing several of their players to be available for France duty.

Bordeaux-Begles Players Dominate France Squad

France have included nine Bordeaux-Begles players, although Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Maxime Lucu and Matthieu Jalibert have been given an additional week of rest.

The Bordeaux contingent includes experienced prop Jefferson Poirot, who previously won 36 France caps and captained the national side three times before stepping away from international rugby in 2020.

Fabien Galthié Includes Uncapped Players

Galthié has also named nine uncapped players in the group. The new faces include Australian-born lock Tom Staniforth and Castres teammate Christian Ambadiang, who was born in Cameroon and raised in South Africa.

The England A match will serve as a warm-up before France name a separate squad for their first three Nations Championship fixtures in July. France are scheduled to play away matches against New Zealand, Australia and Japan during that campaign.

France squad:

Forwards: Pierre Bochaton, Esteban Capilla, Sipili Falatea, Marko Gazzotti, Mickaël Guillard, Maxime Lamothe, Lucas Martin, Barnabé Massa, Temo Matiu, Régis Montagne, Boris Palu, Jefferson Poirot, Emerick Setiano, Thomas Staniforth, Killian Tixeront, Réda Wardi, Arrières

Backs: Christian Ambadiang, Grégoire Arfeuil, Théo Attissogbe, Fabien Brau-Boirie, Nicolas Depoortere, Axel Desperes, Mathis Ferté, Antoine Hastoy, Baptiste Jauneau, Louis Le Brun, Nolann Le Garrec, Yoram Moefana