Overview
- France announced a 33-man Nations Championship squad on Tuesday and will base the team in Brisbane ahead of Tests against New Zealand, Australia and Japan.
- Captain Antoine Dupont is not in the initial group but is widely expected to be added after the Toulouse v Montpellier Top 14 final, which means he will not be available for the July 4 Test in Christchurch.
- Galthié publicly pushed back on persistent media speculation about late call-ups, saying the focus should be on the players leaving with the squad first.
- The selection includes Matthieu Jalibert, tour captain Maxime Lucu and the recalled Damian Penaud, features seven uncapped players such as Tom Staniforth and Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, and saw Clermont’s Baptiste Jauneau withdraw leaving two specialist scrum-halves.
- By reserving spots for post-final additions France aims to protect player workload and keep selection flexible, so attention will shift to who joins the tour after the Top 14 decider and how that reshapes the team for the second and third Tests.