France's contingency plan for Six Nations
NEWS: France coach Fabien Galthie will have a 37-man squad for the upcoming Six Nations after an agreement between the French Rugby Federation (FFR) and the league (LNR), sources told AFP on Monday.
Galthie will be able to add five “training partners” from Top 14 clubs who have no more than one player already included in the original 37 and will be unable to feature in Test matches.
Last November, Galthie was forced to make wholesale changes to his side during the Autumn Nations Cup after a compromise between the FFR and LNR which stipulated a maximum of three team-sheet appearances for each player during the six-game campaign.
Former Les Bleus captain Galthie named 11 uncapped players for the win over Italy and was without the likes of Antoine Dupont, Virimi Vakatawa and skipper Charles Ollivon for the final defeat against England.
For the Six Nations which begins on February 6 with a trip to Italy, Galthie will keep 28 players from the Wednesday before a weekend fixture, with the remaining squad members released back to feature for their sides in the Top 14.
Galthie will be without Romain Ntamack for the two opening fixtures of the tournament after the Toulouse fly-half suffered a broken jaw.
