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Star duo return as France name 31-man team for England

Romain Ntamack has suffered a double jaw fracture. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

Romain Ntamack and Virimi Vakatawa are the big-name returnees as France named their 31-man training squad ahead of their Guinness Six Nations match with England next weekend. Hooker Camille Chat also returns to the squad after an injury layoff.

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Arthur Vincent and Louis Carbonel are notable absentees, as well as Gabin Villiere who will undergo surgery for a hand injury sustained in the Top 14.

Giant tighthead Uini Atonio is also missing from the squad and – according to Rugby Rama – is said to still be dealing with the virus. 130kg Castres prop Wilfrid Hounkpatin has been named as his replacement.

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      Ntamack and Vakatawa were both injured prior to the tournament, which saw them miss the first three rounds.  Their return is a welcome boost to Fabien Galthie’s France, who has been rocked by positive C-19 tests and a scandal around what led to the outbreak in the camp.

      Over half of the squad tested positive for the virus and as a result, their Round Three clash with Scotland was officially postponed, with head coach Galthie being identified as a ‘patient zero’. The ebullient Frenchman left the camp bubble to watch his son play a match, a decision that ultimately led to half the squad and members of the staff testing positive for the virus.

      A meeting last Friday morning between French Rugby Federation president Bernard Laporte, education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer and sports minister Roxana Maracineanu resulted in the championship favourites being given the green light to continue playing in a season where away wins over Italy and Ireland were followed by the postponement of their home game with Scotland.

      Maracineanu had threatened to withdraw France because of the outbreak which saw twelve players and four backroom staff, including head coach Fabien Galthie, test positive for Covid-19, forcing the postponement of last Sunday’s round three Stade de France match against the Scots.

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      – additional reporting PA

       

       

       

       

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      H
      Head high tackle 3 hours ago
      Can Samoa and Tonga ever become contenders when their top talent is skimmed?

      I think you have gone in the wrong direction here Nick. I think you need to delve down into the rules etc around Moana Pacifica’s selection policies and then you need to understand that a lot of KIWI BORN rugby players have PI heritage. It appears ok for the 4 home nations to pillage NZ born players constantly without retribution but you want to question whether NZ BORN players should be eligible for NZ? Seems a real agenda in there.

      Go back and look at the actual Aims and agenda for MP becoming a entity and you see lots of things enshrined in policy that you arnt mentioning here. EG there is an allowance for a percentage of MP to be NZ eligible. This was done so MP could actually become competitive. Lets be real. If it wasnt this way then MP would not be competitive.

      There also seems to be some sort of claim ( mainly from the NH ) that NZ is “cashing in” on MP, which , quite frankly is a major error. Are you aware of how much MP costs NZR Financially?

      39 NZ born rugby players played at the last world cup for Samoa or Tonga. PLUS plenty for Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales.

      Taumoefolau is a BORN AND BRED NZer. However I very strongly doubt he will be an AB, but who do you believe he should be allowed to play for? Levi Aumua is ALSO a born and bred Kiwi.

      Aumua was eligible to represent Samoa and Fiji for the Pacific Nations Cup in July that year but ended up playing for neither. He IS eligible for his nation of Birth too Nick

      He is a Kiwi. Are you saying an NZ born, raised Kiwi cant play for NZ now?

      Sorry Nick Kiwi born and bred actually qualify for NZ.

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