It was the imbroglio of the day for French rugby. A soap opera like only Ovalie knows how to invent. It concerns Perpignan prospect Posolo Tuilagi. At the start of the day this Friday, the newspaper The Independent announces that the young second row will not be able to be selected by the French XV for the Six Nations Tournament, as he does not yet have a French passport. Information subsequently confirmed to AFP by his club.
Among the contenders for the second line position in Blue, the 19-year-old colossus, world champion with the French under-20 team last summer but born in Samoa, does not yet have a French passport.
We then thought that this administrative document was imperative to wear the French XV jersey, and this since 2016 and the arrival of Bernard Laporte at the head of the French Rugby Federation. President of the FFR from 2016 to 2023, the latter declared shortly after his election that he had “made the political decision to no longer play foreign players in the national team”.
But Laporte, since convicted, left the presidency of the FFR with a bang. And the rule has since changed. Or rather, it never existed. At least that’s what Jean-Marc Lhermet, vice-president of the FFR in charge of the French teams, explains. “Nothing prevents Fabien Galthié from selecting him,” he assured Rugby Rama this Friday evening.
“It was simply one man’s decision”
“There is no law about this. It was simply the decision of one man, which was not even validated by the steering committee. To be very clear, we thought she had been, but not at all. Therefore, nothing obliged us to continue in this direction,” continued Jean-Marc Lhermet. For the case of Posolo Tuilagi, “only the eligibility rules of World Rugby come into account, from there, he is completely selectable”, further specifies the vice-president of the FFR to Rugbyrama.
An explanation confirmed a few minutes later by a press release from the FFR: “Although under the presidency of Bernard Laporte an orientation was adopted to limit the selection of foreign players, except holders of a French passport, this policy has never been formalized in the rules of the FFR. Therefore, no current provision compromises the selection of Mr Tuilagi or other players in similar situations. The process of selecting a player remains exclusively dictated by World Rugby rules. »
Indeed, according to the international body (Regulation 8 of World Rugby), “a player is eligible to represent a national team if he himself, his parents or grandparents were born in the country concerned, or if he has resided in this country for 60 consecutive months,” recalls the FFR. Which opens the way to a selection of the Catalan second line, in France for more than 5 years.
Posolo Tuilagi will therefore not have to wait to obtain his passport to play his first minutes with the XV of France. Unlike Toulouse’s Emmanuel Meafou. The second line of Australian origin was unable to participate in the 2023 World Cup with the Blues, having not yet obtained French nationality. He had not, either, reached 5 years of residence in France. But he obtained his naturalization last November and is expected to be called up in the list of 34 players that Fabien Galthié will announce on Wednesday. Will Posolo Tuilagi be there, too? The choice now belongs to the French coach.
