France lose another star for Nations Championship
INJURY UPDATE: France’s record try scorer Damian Penaud will miss the rest of the southern leg of the Nations Championship with a calf injury, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) announced on Monday.
Winger Penaud was replaced at half-time of Saturday’s campaign-opening loss to New Zealand as he made his first Test appearance since November.
The 29-year-old will be sidelined for games against Australia in Brisbane on Saturday and Japan in Tokyo on July 18.
Penaud scored his 41st Test try after just two minutes in Christchurch having been dropped from Les Bleus’ successful Six Nations campaign earlier this year.
“He felt a tightness in his calf,” head coach Fabien Galthie told reporters after the loss to the All Blacks.
“He didn’t want to risk a tear,” Galthie added.
He was replaced by flyhalf Antoine Hastoy as Galthie re-shuffled his back-line.
The FFR did not announce a replacement for Penaud in the squad, with specialist newspaper Midi Olympique claiming on Monday starting flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert could move to fullback with Toulouse’s Romain Ntamack taking over the No.10 shirt.
Full-back Max Spring is a major doubt to face the Wallabies with Olympic sevens champions Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang and Theo Forner as well as Toulon’s Mathis Ferte the other back-three options.
Galthie is already without a host of first-choice players including scrumhalf Antoine Dupont and Penaud’s club teammate winger in Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
Dupont has been ruled out of the campaign through injury while speedster Bielle-Biarrey is being rested.
