France lose centre ahead of Wales clash
INJURY NEWS: France centre Nicolas Depoortere has been ruled out of the team’s Six Nations match in Wales this weekend through injury, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) said on Wednesday.
Depoortere was one of the stars of France’s thumping 36-14 victory against Ireland last week. Such was his vibrant attacking play that he beat more defenders than any other player.
But the 23-year-old sat out training on Tuesday due to “muscle soreness” he felt during the morning weight-training session, attack coach Patrick Arlettaz had said.
He had played the entirety of the Ireland match.
Depoortere was due to undergo tests, but Arlettaz insisted that “for the moment, there is nothing to worry about”.
The FFR did not specify the nature of the Bordeaux-Begles centre’s injury.
Yoram Moefana, Depoortere’s midfield partner for club and country, also sat out Tuesday’s session.
“Yoram picked up a little knock to the knee during the Ireland match,” Arlettaz said on Tuesday, explaining that was the reason Moefana was substituted after 50 minutes.
On Tuesday, young Pau pair Fabien Brau-Boirie, 20, who is uncapped, and 22-year-old Emilien Gailleton, who has 11 caps, lined up in the centres alongside the rest of the starters from the Ireland match.
Arlettaz compared Brau-Boirie to former France centre Yannick Jauzion, who was short-listed for world player of the year in 2007 and was twice part of a French Six Nations Grand Slam-winning team.
“He has that kind of talent, a bit like Jauzion, to be understated and very effective, to make others around him play well and always run very clean lines,” said Arlettaz of Brau-Boirie.
