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Eddie Jones ends Wallabies speculation on Emmanuel Meafou

Emmanuel Meafou of the Eagles is yellow carded during the round one NRC match between the Sydney Rays and NSW Country Eagles at Leichhardt Oval on September 19, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

Wallabies head coach Eddie Jones has ended speculation around the Test future of Toulouse’s giant, Australian second row Emmanuel Meafou.

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Jones has confirmed that Meafou, a formidable Top 14 player known for his towering stature and powerful runs, has announced his decision to play for France instead of representing the green and gold.

The 24-year-old, who was previously involved with the Melbourne Rebels programme in Australia’s Super Rugby competition before falling through the cracks, felt he was being overlooked by the Australian rugby system and decided to explore other opportunities in France back in 2019.

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Eddie Jones gives blockbuster 30 minute interview as he announces groundbreaking new Australia team

Meafou’s impressive performances for Toulouse have not gone unnoticed, and he has caught the attention of French rugby officials who are eager to add him to their national team roster. The prospect of playing in the Six Nations and potentially the Rugby World Cup is undoubtedly a tempting one for the towering forward.

Meafou, who was born in New Zealand but raised in Australia, even trained with Les Bleus despite not being eligible to play for Fabien Galthie’s France until 2024 at the earliest.

“He’s a good young boy from the Western suburbs of Sydney,” Jones said when fielding questions following the selection of his first Wallabies training squad. “He’s decided he wants to play for France. I’ve had a bit of a discussion with him. I only want players who want to play for Australia.

“If he’s made a decision to play for France, which he has, then I wish him all the best and I hope he has a great career. Do I wish he selected Australia? Not really. I can’t control that.

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“So, yeah, there’s not that much of a story there for you mate,” Jones told a French journalist on the zoom call.

The 6’8, 145kg lock’s decision to switch allegiance to France is not a totally uncommon one in the rugby world, with many players opting to represent countries, even where there aren’t familial or ancestral ties.

Although it may come as a blow to Australian rugby fans, Meafou’s decision to play for France is won’t come as a huge shock. With Meafou’s size and power, he is sure to be a force to be reckoned with in the French rugby team, and now French fans will be eager to see what he can bring to the international stage.

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J
JW 1 hour ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Where? I remember saying "unders"? The LNR was formed by the FFR, if I said that in a way that meant the 'pro' side of the game didn't have an equal representation/say as the 'amateur' side (FFR remit) that was not my intent.


But also, as it is the governing body, it also has more responsibility. As long as WR looks at FFR as the running body for rugby in France, that 'power' will remain. If the LNR refuses to govern their clubs use of players to enable a request by FFR (from WR) to ensure it's players are able to compete in International rugby takes place they will simply remove their participation. If the players complain to the France's body, either of their health and safety concerns (through playing too many 'minutes' etc) or that they are not allowed to be part in matches of national interest, my understanding is action can be taken against the LNR like it could be any other body/business. I see where you're coming from now re EPCR and the shake up they gave it, yes, that wasn't meant to be a separate statement to say that FFR can threaten them with EPCR expulsion by itself, simply that it would be a strong repercussion for those teams to be removed (no one would want them after the above).


You keep bringing up these other things I cannot understand why. Again, do you think if the LNR were not acting responsibly they would be able to get away with whatever they want (the attitude of these posters saying "they pay the players")? You may deem what theyre doing currently as being irresponsible but most do not. Countries like New Zealand have not even complained about it because they've never had it different, never got things like windfall TV contracts from France, so they can't complain because theyre not missing out on anything. Sure, if the French kept doing things like withholding million dollar game payments, or causing millions of dollars of devaluation in rights, they these things I'm outlining would be taking place. That's not the case currently however, no one here really cares what the French do. It's upto them to sort themselves out if they're not happy. Now, that said, if they did make it obvious to World Rugby that they were never going to send the French side away (like they possibly did stating their intent to exclude 20 targeted players) in July, well then they would simply be given XV fixtures against tier 2 sides during that window and the FFR would need to do things like the 50/50 revenue split to get big teams visiting in Nov.

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