Small earthquake in French rugby. As announced by L’Equipe and confirmed by Le Parisien, Gaël Fickou and Damian Penaud, executives of the XV of France, will not appear in the list of 42 Blues selected for the 2026 Six Nations Tournament revealed on Wednesday.
With this decision, Fabien Galthié removes two key figures from the French collective. Captain during the summer tour to New Zealand in July and again against South Africa during the November test matches, the three-quarter center of Racing 92 (31 years old, 98 caps) is the most capped active player of the Blues.
Damian Penaud (29 years old, 59 caps), author of a double against the Springboks this fall, holds the status of best try scorer in the history of the French XV with 40 tries. In November, he also played all three of the Blues’ matches against the South Africans, the Fijians and the Australians, forming a feared winger pair with his Bordeaux-Bègles partner Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
Penaud already ruled out against Italy
However, Penaud had already been dismissed by the staff during the 2025 Six Nations Tournament. Following the defeat in England where his defensive investment had been singled out, the winger did not make the trip to Rome to face Italy.
