New France head coach Guy Noves has today announced his first official squad after replacing Philippe Saint-André ahead of next month’s RBS Six Nations tournament.
And as Noves looks to reinvent French rugby after a difficult few years, one of his first big decisions as head coach has been to omit Toulon centre Mathieu Bastareaud from the senior squad, despite the 27-year-old already possessing 39 caps and largely featuring under former head coach Saint-André.
Discussing his first squad selection, as reported by the BBC, 61-year-old Noves said:
We want to build a team who will be able to improve a lot and not taking players who would not be with us in two or three years.
France will start their Six Nations campaign against Italy on February 6 and despite not having long with the players, Noves hopes he can help bring back a positive atmosphere to the French dressing room (Sky Sports):
In the short term, what I’d like to see [from the players] is an attitude.
It’s about giving your best from the first to the last minute, almost without worrying about the result, the points scored and conceded.
It’s about taking to the pitch with one single desire: push your own machine to its extremes for 80 minutes. It’s about showing the French public they can be proud of their team.
See below the 31-man France squad selected by Noves:
Forwards Uini Atonio, Eddy Ben Arous, Andoine Burban, Yacouba Camara, Camille Chat, Damien Chouly, Alessandre Flanquart, Kevin Gourdon, Guilhem Guirado (capt), Paul Jedrasiak, Wenceslas Lauret, Yoann Maestri, Louis Picamoles, Jefferson Poirot, Rabah Slimani, Sébastien Vahaamahina
Backs Sébastien Bézy, Hugo Bonneval, Jonathan Danty, Jean-Marc Doussain, Alexandre Dumoulin, Benjamin Fall, Gaël Fickou, Wesley Fofana, Rémi Lamerat, Maxime Machenaud, Maxime Médard, Morgan Parra, Jules Plisson, Scott Spedding, Virimi Vakatawa
