France provide update on Danty after Du Toit's dangerous cleanout
SQUAD UPDATE: France centre Jonathan Danty was cleared to play against Japan this weekend after the French Rugby Federation (FFR) announced that he had not suffered a long-term injury from the head-butt he received in the win over South Africa on Saturday.
Springbok lock Pieter-Steph du Toit was sent off in the 12th minute of France’s 30-26 win in Marseille for piling into a ruck headfirst and butting Danty, who was on the ground, in the face.
Danty took no further part in the match, amid fears that he had suffered a fracture of his eye socket.
“The first clinical examination raised suspicion of a lesion of the eye socket,” the FFR said in a press release.
“Additional examinations carried out this morning [Monday] revealed that Jonathan Danty has not suffered a fracture.
“He will be back in the France squad this evening in Marcoussis and remains available for selection for the match on Sunday, November 20 against Japan.”
Appalling thuggery by Pieter-Steph du Toit. A flying head butt. Sickening. #FRAvRSA #Springboks pic.twitter.com/uKyEpPrTEW
— Alisdair Hogg (@ajshogg) November 12, 2022
Loosehead prop Cyril Baille, who lasted only 32 minutes of a particularly feisty encounter in Marseille, will not be available for the Japan match in spite of a “reassuring” result from new medical tests.
Initial concerns that Baille may have a hernia and need surgery were allayed by the FFR.
Toulon’s Dany Priso and Clement Castets of Stade Francais have been called in as cover for Baille in an extended 42-man squad.
Castres lock Florent Vanverberghe and Montpellier’s Florian Verhaeghe have similarly been summoned to replace Thibaud Flament who was concussed in the first half.
Captain Antoine Dupont, who was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Cheslin Kolbe, will also be absent from the meeting in Toulouse and has been replaced in the squad by Racing 92’s uncapped scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec.
The 20-year-old toured Japan with France in the summer when Dupont was unavailable but has yet to play a Test.
