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Welcome to our weekly review of everything going on in French rugby which, in the week of Fabien Galthié announcing his initial 42-man training squad for France’s Six Nations title defence, contained even more shocks - with one particularly saddening surprise.
Uini Atonio
Stade Rochelais announced this morning (28 January) that Uini Atonio has suffered a ‘cardiac event’, and that he will not be able to continue his playing career. He remains under observation in intensive care, but is reported to be in a stable condition. Our thoughts and all of those in French rugby are with Uini Atonio and his family.
Atonio’s contribution to French rugby and to La Rochelle in particular is extraordinary, and we wish him and those closest to him the very best at an incredibly difficult time.
Galthié Embracing Change
Fabien Galthié’s approach to squad selection, beyond hotly debated schedule-based picks, has largely been one of conservative consistency during his tenure at the top of French rugby. That playbook, though, seems to have at least temporarily been ripped up for the coming Six Nations.
That for this campaign he has for now moved away from the likes of Grégory Alldritt, Gaël Fickou and Damian Penaud was seismic news in the last week, and marks a notable change in outlook less than two years out from the World Cup.
Whether truly justified or not, those selections will force France into the type of personnel changes that many fans have clamoured for and that he has largely resisted to date. However, it remains to be seen whether the radical changes in his 42-man squad will translate to a material shift in the match day squad. Although it’s likely that the berths vacated by the trio of experienced heads will likely be taken by youngsters, it is probable that they will be players who have featured in the 6 Nations previously such as Oscar Jégou (into the back row), Nicolas Depoortère (to partner club-mate Yoram Moefana in the centres) and Théo Attissogbe (onto the wing).
There is plenty of excitement (and rightly so) about the inclusions of young wingers like Gaël Dréan and Attissogbe’s precocious Paloise counterparts Arran Grandidier-Nkanang and Grégoire Arfeuil, while there are strong cases for Temo Matiu (the only specialist no.8 in the squad) and Lenni Nouchi to take one of the back row spots. Of the players who haven’t featured in the Six Nations previously, the form of Toulouse’s Kalvin Gourgues make him the likeliest to feature against Ireland, albeit probably from the bench.
Either way, the options are bountiful. Selection murmurings will reign over Galthié’s big calls until the 23 for Ireland is selected next week. Be braced for speculation to turn to excitement, because the young crop so many have been pining for will undoubtedly be given their chance.
Toulouse: A Class Apart at Home
As trailed in last week’s league preview, the Top 14 produced the anomaly of every side playing the team next to them in the table last weekend, a quirk in the fixture list with a 0.02% probability.
Watchers of the Saturday-night primetime showdown then could be forgiven for being puzzled when they tuned in for a tight one at the top of the table, as Toulouse put 40 points past second-placed Pau before half-time, running out 59–22 winners. In truth, Pau played some excellent rugby of their own but found themselves against a Toulouse side playing at their magnificent best.
Their home record this year is startling — an average of 7.25 tries and 50 points per home game, with seven bonus-point wins, their lowest margin of victory being 12 points against Stade Français. Despite their issues on the road in the Champions Cup, they remain an astonishing force at Stade Ernest-Wallon.
Les Rouges et Noirs’ superiority over their nearest league rivals may have had an impact on national team considerations. That Pau have six players in the current Six Nations squad is testament to where they are as a side. Pau numbers could arguably be higher: Saturday was Émilien Gailleton’s first game after nearly two months out with a shoulder injury while Thomas Laclayat and Jimi Maximin both represented France in November and may have been favourites to fill the spots vacated by La Rochelle duo Uini Atonio and Paul Boudehent, but their places instead go to Toulouse’s Josh Brennan and Georges-Henri Colombe, swelling the reigning Top 14 champions’ national team contribution to 14 and further affirming their status as the league’s premier side.
Fortresses Fall & Coaches Being Shuffled?
Bayonne had gone nearly 600 days without losing in the league at Stade Jean-Dauger, but that proud record was finally blown apart by a revitalised Castres side, who followed their Champions Cup raid of Thomond Park with a stunning win in the Basque Country.
Bayonne are far from in crisis, but having struggled with injuries and produced some limp performances in the Champions Cup, speculation around Grégory Patat appears to be mounting, with questions around the relationship between him and Laurent Travers lingering throughout the season. No week in French rugby would be complete without some coaching melodrama, and Patat is now heavily linked with Brive, who were reportedly rebuffed by Joe El-Abd in the week.
Bayonne weren’t the only side to be humbled on home turf. Despite their flawlessness in the Champions Cup, Union Bordeaux-Bègles’ domestic league campaign has been far from perfect, and so was the case on Saturday; Stade Français were magnificent in their 33–28 victory at Stade Chaban-Delmas. Having gained multiple losing bonus points away from home, it’s clear that Stade are going to be a handful until the end of the season. They now sit in third place, and in a season where many an away game has been a non-event, their competitiveness away from Stade Jean-Bouin has been refreshing.
Beginning of the End for Montauban?
Unsurprisingly, given the fixture list quirk, we saw a round of incredibly tight games, with the losing team securing a ‘defensive bonus point’ - for losing by 5 points or fewer - in five out of the seven fixtures. The exceptions were the game in Toulouse and the bottom of the table. 13th faced 14th in Perpignan, where the hosts beat Montauban 31-8, earning themselves an attacking bonus point.
Perpignan are far from clear of the threat of relegation themselves - the Top 14’s 13th placed side face the Pro D2 runners up in an ‘Access Match’ play off, and USAP are still 14 points away from 12th - but for Montauban it is now hard to envisage them finishing anything other than bottom and being resigned to automatic relegation.
They have not won a game of any kind since their win over USAP in the reverse fixture on 25 October. That was also the last time they conceded fewer than 30 points. In the 11 fixtures in all competitions since then, their average score is 46-17. The seven-point gap between them and USAP looks insurmountable.
Shocks on the Road Shuffle the Pro D2 Pack
Like in the Top 14, it seems there is also a bridge to gap to the leaders in Pro D2. Although the margin of Vannes’ victory wasn’t nearly as big as Toulouse’s, the magnitude of their 26-29 win away in Grenoble should not be underestimated - Grenoble were runaway league leaders in Pro D2 last season.
There were also impressive away wins at Agen and Soyaux Angoulême for Colomiers and Oyonnax respectively, while underperforming Mont de Marsan got their first points of the season away from home, with a last minute penalty securing a draw at Nevers. The result is that the Pro D2 table is starting to take shape, with 7th placed Nevers now six points behind Brive who currently sit in the final Barrage spot.
However, with 12 rounds of fixtures to go (a whopping 40% of the league season), only a fool would bet on the playoffs featuring all of the current top six; even as far down as Soyaux Angoulême in 11th place, sides will still be harbouring hopes a promotion push. Thankfully, unlike the Top 14, the relegation battle remains wide open too.
Get the Game On!
It’s been a grisly winter weather-wise in England, France and beyond, but local clubs’ efforts to get a game of rugby on in the face of the most inclement conditions should not be underestimated.
One of the most impressive efforts of last week went to Censeau, situated in the Jura department between Dijon and Oyonnax, who wheeled out the industrial-strength snowblowers in order to clear the lines for their Régionale 3 encounter against Auxonne, in the 9th tier of French rugby.
As captured by Rugby Amateur on instagram, it was a sterling effort from all involved, not least given the home side gained a massive 61–0 victory, lifting them into seventh in the table, above the mighty US Saint-Bérain-sur-Dheune in the process.