Manon Fossat and AFP 06:39, February 06, 2022
The French Rugby Team starts its Six Nations Tournament this Sunday with a match against Italy, which will kick off at 4 p.m.
The Blues will notably be able to count on the return of Toulouse hooker Julien Marchand and Lyon third-line Dylan Cretin.
The Dupont-Ntamack hinge will also be there to face the Squadra Azzurra.
The Blues are launching the 2022 Six Nations Tournament this Sunday against Italy, deprived of coach Fabien Galthié but with guarantees offered by the successes of the fall and the return of the Toulouse hinge, Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack.
Two months after beating the All Blacks (40-25), the XV of France resumes its march forward with a first stage a priori within its reach: the Squadra Azzurra, eternal wooden spoon of the Tournament, which is chasing its first success competing since 2015.
The returns of Marchand and Cretin
The preparation of the Blues was disrupted on Friday by the announcement by the French Rugby Federation that coach Fabien Galthié, tested on Thursday then Friday, was positive for Covid.
A fourth case after those of Pierre Bourgarit (La Rochelle) on January 24, of Thibaud Flament (Toulouse) two days later and of a "member of the logistics management" on February 2, according to the FFR.
But if Fabien Galthié is not expected in the stands, on the ground on the other hand, we will find thirteen of the fifteen New Zealand scorers.
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Sunday 4 p.m. at @StadeFrance, kick off of the #SixNations 2022 Tournament of #XVdeFrance!
The last tickets ️ https://t.co/RMWPEws6XC#NeFaisonsXVpic.twitter.com/3WTRt1dyNr
– France Rugby (@FranceRugby) February 4, 2022
Julien Marchand, who had given up his place as hooker due to a rib injury in the fall, regains his position, while Dylan Cretin settles in third row.
"Dylan is there all the time, he trains with us, he is in all the competitions, all the tours. We played twenty test matches, he has thirteen selections. Which means that he starts today, it is first of all his level of play and the complementarity he can have", explained Fabien Galthié to AFP.
The Lyonnais, darling of the coach of the French touch Karim Ghezal, who had not been used much during the November tour, also benefits from the repositioning of Cameron Woki, usual third line at UBB, and absences from Charles Ollivon, injured knee, and Thibaud Flament,
Jonathan Danty was also chosen in the center with Gaël Fickou, to the detriment of Yoran Moefana.
"He was exceptional during the Autumn Nations Cup and in Australia," said Fabien Galthié last November.
23 wins for the Blues in the last 24 games against Italy
Usual replacement for Romain Ntamack at the opening, the number 10 of the UBB, Matthieu Jalibert is meanwhile "too fair" and does not appear on the score sheet, unlike the Toulouse, absent during the first week of the gathering.
Antoine Dupont, François Cros, Anthony Jelonch, Cyril Baille and Romain Ntamack had tested positive for coronavirus at the end of January.
Scrum half Antoine Dupont, captain of the Blues and best player in the world, has only played one game since December 11.
Italy, for its part, has not won a match in the competition since February 2015 and remains on a catastrophic 2021 edition after recording records for points and tries conceded.
Last year, the Blues had outclassed the "Nazionale" by winning 50-10, with a double from Teddy Thomas and four assists from Antoine Dupont.
They remain in effect on 23 victories in 24 games against the Squadra Azzurra.
Fabien Galthié's XV finished runner-up in the 2021 Six Nations Tournament after recording a defeat against Scotland (23-27) at home and one in England (23-20).
They had all the same taken away the dreams of Grand Slam in Wales, by winning at the Stade de France in stoppage time (32-30).