'We take complete responsibility': Galthie defends controversial selections
SPOTLIGHT: France head coach Fabien Galthie said he and his coaches take “complete responsibility” for including two players in his Six Nations squad who were investigated for rape in Argentina before the case was dismissed.
In December, the case against 21-year-olds Oscar Jegou and Hugo Auradou was dropped after the two forwards had faced accusations in July.
La Rochelle flank Jegou and Pau lock Auradou insisted they had consensual sex with a 39-year-old woman after a night of drinking following their Test debuts in the western city of Mendoza but their accuser maintains she was the victim of a vicious assault.
The complainant’s lawyer has appealed the case’s dismissal with a hearing set for February 10-11, days after France play England on February 8 in the second round of the Six Nations.
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Galthie has named both players in his set-up for the tournament, which begins with Les Bleus hosting Wales on January 31.
“I understand and I hear the controversy that it could provoke but we take complete responsibility for our decisions,” Galthie told reporters at the Six Nations launch in Rome.
“There were necessary and obvious conditions around picking them,” he added.
Following the dismissal of the case by the Argentina court last month, the French Rugby Federation said Jegou and Auradou were available for selection by Galthie on the basis of their performances for their clubs.
Jegou returned to the field in November with La Rochelle and Auradou was back with Pau in October.
“We only take into account performance,” Galthie said. “We have a competent coaching staff, and our decisions, our ranking system by position, they are decisions that are never easy, it’s sometimes painful, in the end it needs to be simple and clear.
“They are players who have worked a lot to come through this difficult period, which is not over,” he added.
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