Saint-Denis (AFP)

Bad weather for the Blues: after the hooker Camille Chat, the XV of France will be deprived of a new frame with the package of the winger Damian Penaud, injured during the last training on Saturday, on the eve of the Sunday Crunch (4:00 p.m. ) against England.

It is the Rochelais Vincent Rattez (27 years old, 3 selections) who will take place on the left wing and will celebrate his first tenure against the English vice-world champions, after three selections leaving the bench, in front of South Africa in 2017 (twice) and Wales in 2019.

He will be replaced on the bench of the substitutes by the Montpellier Arthur Vincent, who celebrates at 20 years his first selection.

Saturday, at the Stade de France, Penaud (23 years old, 16 caps) had smiled with his teammates for the traditional "captain's run", before disappearing for a few minutes and returning to the left calf surrounded by a bandage.

At the end of the session, the XV general manager of France Raphaël Ibanez did not hide his concern about the Clermont player: "He experienced muscle discomfort at the very start of the warm-up. He is currently undergoing control, "said the former hooker.

"We will see the outcome of these exams, we just hope that it is not important," he then added, prescient.

Penaud suffers from a left calf injury, according to RMC, and will therefore miss the start of the 2020 Six Nations Tournament.

It is a new blow for the Blues new look of Fabien Galthié, after the packages of the hooker Camille Chat (Racing 92), the third line Dylan Cretin (Lyon), the rear Kylan Hamdaoui (Stade français) or the pillar Wilfrid Hounkpatin (Castres).

- First tenure for Rattez -

Above all, the French team, rejuvenated, loses an essential player, young but experienced and, above all, holder at the World Cup with three matches played and 228 minutes on the field, which make Clermontois the sixth most used player in Japan, behind the back Maxime Médard (1st with 241 minutes).

"He has an incredible ability to break the lines. He is an exciting player: he is fast, he is powerful. He has everything you need for a rugby player," said AFP. his club teammate and ex-All Black Isaia Toeava (34, 36 caps).

For Rattez, it is a sacred baptism of fire that he will offer himself against the supersonic Jonny May (29 years old, 52 selections).

But the Rochelais does not seem to be overworked. "We obviously looked at what the English do: it is very readable but they do it so well and with such intensity that it is still very hard to support ... It is not for nothing s "They made it to the World Cup final!", he said recently.

"First, our forwards will have to keep up their pace and move very quickly in the middle of the field. Then, in terms of coverage, it will be a question of anticipating their intentions as much as possible. We will just have to be well in place and as attentive as possible. And above all, reassemble the balloons when we collect them because they have very mobile third lines and capable of putting us to fault at the slightest error, "he added. Quite simply.

© 2020 AFP