Only France nationals will be considered for Test spots - FFR President

The French Rugby Federation (FFR) president Bernard Laporte announced on Wednesday that foreign qualified players will no longer represent the national team.

The current set of foreign players in the team which includes the likes of New Zealand-born prop Uini Atonio, South African born full-back Scott Spedding and Fijian wings Noa Nakaitaci and Virimi Vakatawa will be eligible but other foreign based players will not be exempted from the decision.

Laporte, who described it was a political decision insisted that a strong signal has been sent to French academies, who will now be forced to play as many youngsters from France.

"Obviously it's not retroactive. Those playing can continue playing but it's a strong signal for French acadamies and our youngsters that we'll play a maximum number of Frenchmen," said Laporte.

“One must not impoverish the Fijians, Georgians, Samoans and Tongans otherwise we impoverish the standard of international rugby.”

The decision was conveyed by Laporte to World Rugby president Bill Beaumont in a meeting held in Paris.

Currently, a foreign player can qualify to play for another country on residency grounds, if he has lived there for three consecutive years but World Rugby is considering to increase it to five.