South African Jeremy Ward earns surprise France call-up

SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: Former Sharks midfielder Jeremy Ward has been named in France’s 42-man squad for next month’s Nations Championship, although the South African will not be eligible to play for Les Bleus until 2027.

The 30-year-old Stade Français centre has been included as a training partner and will not feature in France’s Tests against Fiji on November 7, the Springboks on November 13 or Argentina on November 21, as he is still completing World Rugby’s five-year residency requirement.

Ward represented Eastern Province, the Southern Kings and Sharks before joining Stade Français in 2022. He also made four appearances for the Junior Springboks in 2016.

His inclusion comes at the expense of Bordeaux Bègles centre Nicolas Depoortere, who has earned 10 Test caps for France.

France coach Fabien Galthié has welcomed back several established stars, including captain Antoine Dupont, No 8 Grégory Alldritt, wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey and loose forward François Cros.

However, injuries have sidelined Julien Marchand, Thibaud Flament, Emmanuel Meafou, Thomas Ramos and Matthieu Jalibert, creating opportunities for Bayonne hooker Guillaume Cramont, first-time call-up Karl Sorin and the returning Léo Barré.

France squad
Forwards: Grégory Alldritt, Hugo Auradou, Paul Boudehent, Joshua Brennan, Esteban Capilla, Guillaume Cramont, François Cros, Tyler Duguid, Sipili Falatea, Alexandre Fischer, Marko Gazzotti, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Mickaël Guillard, Oscar Jegou, Maxime Lamothe, Peato Mauvaka, Charles Ollivon, Jefferson Poirot, Karl Sorin, Tom Staniforth, Tevita Tatafu, Reda Wardi, Cameron Woki.

Backs: Théo Attissogbe, Léo Barré, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Fabien Brau-Boirie, Axel Desperes, Antoine Dupont (c), Mathis Ferté, Théo Forner, Emilien Gailleton, Kalvin Gourgues, Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, Antoine Hastoy, Nolann Le Garrec, Maxime Lucu, Yoram Moefana, Romain Ntamack, Damian Penaud, Tani Vili, Jeremy Ward.