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France forced to field B team in Autumn Nations Cup final following legal threat
England’s path towards lifting a second piece of silverware of the autumn has been simplified by the internal politics that mean France must field a shadow team at Twickenham on Sunday.
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The Autumn Nations Cup final has been devalued by the constraints placed on Les Bleus head coach Fabien Galthie, who has named a 31-man training squad containing only two players with caps totals in double figures in Brice Dulin and Uini Atonio.
An agreement struck in response to the threat of legal action from France’s Top 14 clubs due to the imposition of an extended international window means Galthie is only able to pick each player a maximum of three times across the six matches.
Having front loaded stars such as Antoine Dupont, Virimi Vakatawa and Gregory Alldritt in a campaign that started with a warm-up match against Wales a week before the final round of the interrupted 2020 Six Nations, Galthie is left with limited options.
Even the shadow team that flattened Italy on Saturday night must now return Teddy Thomas and Baptiste Serin back to their clubs, while the unavailability of Serin requires that France pick a third captain.
England are eager for revenge after coming unstuck in Paris in February – their only defeat of 2020 – but the entire starting XV that sent them spinning to a 24-17 loss are ruled out. In total 20 players are missing because of the rule imposed on Galthie.
Instead of a thunderous climax between Eddie Jones’ Six Nations champions and a resurgent France full of forward might and attacking firepower, the Autumn Nations Cup will end in a non-event.
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Jones, however, is still targeting a comprehensive victory built on forward dominance.
“France were too good for us on that day. Whatever France has in store for us, we will be delighted to play against them,” Jones said.
“They are a good team. The French have always got a tough forward pack so up-front we are going to have beat them up.
“The challenge is get on top of them up front and then we can create some space out wide so we can play a bit. That’s the challenge for us.”
A crowd of 2,000 will be present at Twickenham to watch the conclusion to the longest autumn of them all hoping that England will ignite following a series of business-like but unspectacular wins.
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Overall the Autumn Nations Cup has produced few highlights as a result of the malaise affecting the game.
“I was watching the Mitre Ten Cup final on Saturday morning and I think I saw about eight consecutive box kicks which you never used to see in New Zealand rugby,” Jones said.
“It just indicates how hard it is break down defences now. We have got 15 incredibly athletic players who are all trained to be bigger, faster and stronger and the field has not changed size.
“When I played rugby 30 years ago only seven people defended the field because you had eight people the ruck.
“Now we have got 15 players able to defend the field, it is just getting harder and harder to break them down.
“Defences are coming off the line harder so you have got to attack rush defence, which is a new set of skills that are players are slowly developing. We still have a long way to go which is good for us.”
Comments on RugbyPass
> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
2 Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
1 Go to commentsAs a Crusaders fan , so disappointed , again.But I think Fergus Burke was all class for the Crusaders in his first game since October last year. Fletcher Newell , was so good at prop. Johnny McNicoll has been gold since returning from Wales. Noah Hotham brilliant , in a coming of age second season for the Crusaders.Jone Rova did really well at centre. The end of the game was tough.Sevu Reece , what a game/season in tough times.
1 Go to commentsFellas a balloon
3 Go to commentsBlues B team on display and made no race of it. By far the best team in SR with the Hurricanes barely getting past the winning post. Up the Blues 💙
6 Go to commentsWould be amazing to have Servette Genève reaching this level
3 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can't buy a win this season. Surely Penney's contract won't be renewed. There's still enough talent in the squad that they oughta be winning more.
1 Go to commentsABs captain for 23 seasons. Decent record. Surely nobody will surpass it. Legend. But alas a typo…
2 Go to commentsJust FYI Rugbypass, I for one am tired of your clickbait titles and thumbnails and will be clicking them no longer. Good day.
1 Go to commentsI think Farrell despite all of the stick he gets in the media is still one of if not the best fly half in the world. He is literally the full package. He can kick one of the best in the world, probably has the best defensive game of a fly half in the world and if he wants to he can run, take contact and find an offload to keep the pace of the attack. I dont know why he isnt spoken more about still being one of the best in the world with the likes of dupont. Farrell is the ultimate captain and team leader and is experienced- he has been in nearly any situation you can think of. I still believe due to these reasons that he is England’s best ever player and is still one of the best players in the world.
48 Go to commentsBlues are dominating up front and that’s been a long time coming. They have won the up front confrontation which is where canes, hilanders and act brumbies are also strong.
6 Go to commentsJust watched brumbies v safas game sadly not a show in he’ll thryr anywhere near quarters or semi contention. Admittedly some issues around new comers bot what stands out for me is coaching management, poor game planning and accuracy.
5 Go to commentsOne tough SOB!
16 Go to commentsI’ve put on 4/5 kilos since the beginning of the season too. Not good kilos. Bad kilos.
6 Go to commentsSurely there’s a ‘no knobheads’ policy ?
3 Go to commentsWallaroos have no chance of beating the Black Ferns unless Canada upsets them in Christchurch tomorrow but I doubt that as well!
1 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Could the victim do a course to reverse the long term CTE damage from the cheapshot?
2 Go to commentsTruely great player. In social media and opinion pieces he was held up and flogged for the results. People wanted someone to crucify, and he was the captain. He was still an immense presence respected by his peers. His battles with Siya Kolisi belong up with with Collins vs Burger in my opinion. Unlucky to be carded in the final, but I don’t agree that his red card was the defining moment. Not when you look at the dominant performances of the Springboks (PSDT in particular.) I think Cane should be remembered for the spirit and physicality that is special to test rugby.
16 Go to commentsSam was the man until he got injured .
16 Go to comments_Crusaders versus Leinster _at the moment might be a rout! But I would like to see the Blues play Toulouse, the Hurricanes front up against Stade Francais, and the Chiefs go against Toulon.
157 Go to comments