Taofifenua replaces Toulouse forward in French squad

NEWS: France will be without Anthony Jelonch for the start of their Six Nations campaign after the Toulouse forward withdrew from the squad, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) announced on Monday.

The FFR did not specify the cause of Jelonch’s withdrawal which comes as a cruel blow to a player who only returned to competition in September after an eight-month lay-off for an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee.

The 28-year-old, who played the full 80 minutes at No. in Toulouse’s 80-12 Champions Cup thrashing of Leicester on Sunday, was called into France’s squad for the internationals but did not feature in the wins over Japan, New Zealand, and Argentina.

He will be replaced in the 42-man squad by Racing 92 lock Romain Taofifenua who was initially ruled out of contention.

The 34-year-old, who has 53 caps already to his name, played the first 45 minutes of Racing’s 31-22 win over the Stormers in the Champions Cup on Saturday.

He then appeared to have an ice pack on his knee but coach Stuart Lancaster gave him the thumbs up after the match.

France begin their campaign against Wales in Paris on January 31.