New head coach and new-look team as France look to 2020 Six Nations
With the 2020 Six Nations Championship kicking off on Saturday 1st February, coaching staff are now in place and team sheets are being announced. Following the hangover from the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, four of the six nations disposed of their head coaches. One of those was France, who parted company with Jacques Brunel after almost two years in charge. His replacement? Former French scrum-half Fabien Galthié, who has a wealth of experience coaching Top 14 teams including Stade Français and Montpellier.
Following the decision to replace Brunel, Galthié was made vice-head coach in May and watched on as Les Bleus had a successful World Cup campaign. After coming second in Pool C with three wins from their three played games, with their fourth postponed due to Typhoon Hagibis, they were then narrowly defeated in the quarter-finals by Wales. Les Bleus were ahead in their knockout clash, leading 19-10 at the break, before indiscipline cost them and they were reduced to 14 men, eventually losing the match 20-19. However, the latest Six Nations Championship odds do not favour Galthié’s side – they sit fourth in the list of outright winners at a price of 7/1.
There’s one key talking point ahead of France’s Six Nations campaign and that is the youthfulness of the announced team. Galthié has included 19 uncapped players in his 42-man squad and there is just one player named who is over the age of 30, with an average age of 24.
Former captain Guilhem Guirado who retired from Test rugby after the World Cup has been succeeded by Charles Ollivon. The 26-year-old flanker has just 11 caps to his name, and won three of those last year in Japan. Ollivon plays his domestic rugby for Toulon and seven of his teammates have also received call-ups to the Six Nations squad.
There are new faces at every level. In the front row, in come Toulon duo Anthony Etrillard and Jean-Baptiste Gros; in the second row, Killian Geraci gets his first call-up; while in the back row, four new faces include Toulouse’s number 8 Selevasio Tolofua and Lyon’s Dylan Cretin. A number of the youngsters making the step-up to the first team previously tasted success in their respective age groups. The France under-20s squad won the last two world titles and of those two-time winners potentially making their debut is fly-half Louis Carbonel. The 20-year-old who plays his domestic rugby for Toulon receives his first call-up, having also won the Six Nations Under 20s Championship in 2018.
On selecting his squad, Galthié said: "There are 16 players who have either participated in the World Cup or the preparation for one, which is almost a matchday squad. We haven't permanently dropped anyone, we're not closing the door permanently, but we have a short turnaround with the Six Nations and summer tour in Argentina. Then we have to think about 2023, so we wanted to find a balance."
It’s fair to say the squad was in need of an overhaul, having struggled over the last couple of years with stale performances and a flat back-line. At last year’s Six Nations, France finished fourth, winning just two of their five games and suffering an embarrassing 44-8 defeat to England at Twickenham. And it’s the old nemesis the Red Roses that Galthié’s wonderkids must overcome in their first fixture of this year’s tournament. France can take heart in their opening match being on home soil, as their away record against England is woeful, having lost every Six Nations match at Twickenham since 2005, when they narrowly won 18-17.
It’s a strong signal of intent from Galthié, and a New Year brings new opportunities for this young French side.
