As the year 2021 starts with uncertainty about the holding of international meetings due to the surge of the Covid-19 epidemic in Great Britain and the appearance of a new strain of the virus in recent weeks, Fabien Galthié the coach of the XV of France unveiled this Monday evening a list of 37 players. This enlarged group will prepare for the Six Nations Tournament which will begin on February 6 with a trip to Italy.
Faithful to his convictions and his philosophy, the staff of the Blues played the continuity while bringing some touches of novelty. Julien Delbouis is certainly one of them. Called up this fall to prepare for the Fall Nations Cup match against Fiji, the Stade Français center had to resolve to cancel the match. It is necessary to believe that Fabien Galthié has continuation in the ideas by summoning again the one who started in pro under the colors of Massy.
He too had called this fall but viewers hadn’t had a chance to see his acrobatic trials. Donovan Taofifenua, the hit of the moment on the side of Racing 92, is again called in blue to the detriment of Montpellier Vincent Rattez who perhaps pays for the winter poor form of his club in Top 14. The winger, aged 21, Author of a hat-trick in the Top 14 on the day of his first call, will want to prove that he is an alternative to his position while his club teammate Teddy Thomas and Clermontois Damian Penaud have a head start.
Ntamack replaced by Jalibert
Taofifenua will be able to count on the presence of its young teammates in Racing, the pillars Georges-Henri Colombe and Hassane Kolingar to accelerate its adaptation. For Colombe, 22, from Nanterre, the fairy tale continues. He takes advantage of the absence in the group of Lyonnais Demba Bamba, injured. This pure talent which must “still learn a lot” in the words of its manager Laurent Travers is experiencing an express rise. And what about Kolingar who literally caught the eye of the technicians of the XV of France during the match in England. The native of Val-d’Oise could well sign a long lease with the XV of France if he reiterates such services.
For the rest of the group, called to prepare from January 25, Galthié played classical. He compensated for the absence of the opening half Romain Ntamack (Stade Toulouse), injured at least for the first two matches of the Tournament, by his double Matthieu Jalibert (Bordeaux-Bègles).
It is the number of selections of Georges-Henri Colombe, Donovan Taofifenua and Julien Delbouis who are the three real pledges of the group of 37.
