The second World Cup squad to pass before my eyes is a significant one, France
As with Canada’s 32, announced last week, the French squad shows unfortunate absences, in this case caused by ill-timed injury. The two outstanding wingers, Cyrielle Banet, Caroline Boujard, are both missing from action.
The French management have pulled a rabbit out of the hat by naming Sevens star Joanna Grisez as a replacement for them. Here is our first classic example of a top player being asked to switch suddenly from one format to the other. The French 7s squad once more distinguished themselves in Cape Town, capturing the bronze medal in the toughest competition imaginable. But Grisez, just like her Black Ferns counterparts, Ruby Tui, Tyla Nathan-Wong and Theresa Fitzpatrick, is being asked to pick up the finest threads of a complex game with the minimum of practice.
To counter this inexperience the management can turn to a number of players all too used to the stresses and strains of the premier tournament in world rugby: Safi N’Diaye, Marjorie Mayans and Jessy Tremouliere will each celebrate a hat-trick of RWCs.
Add to them highly talented performers fore and aft, led by their still ridiculously young and talented captain, Gaelle Hermet. But Audrey Forlani does not survive the final cut.
Overall the selection committee has picked far more young, promising individuals than we might have expected. Just to name a few from below: Chambon (scrum-half), Escudero (back-row), Lindelauf (Prop), Llorens (wing), Queyroi (outside-half), and Feleu (second-row).
We can be sure we will hear Thomas Darracq uttering his equivalent of Simon Middleton’s ‘We have absolute confidence in everyone of them’, but we must wonder whether it was his original intention to include so many players near the start of their careers.
And we must remember that only Manaé Feleu, originally from Futuna in the South Pacific, has experienced Aotearoa before. That contrasts starkly with a probable England pick; more than a dozen of the likeliest candidates have toured and won there in the past.
The Squad:
Julie Annery, Rose Bernadou, Emilie Boulard, Pauline Bourdon, Yllana Brosseau, Alexandre Chambon, Annaëlle Deshayes, Célia Domain, Caroline Drouin, Charlotte Escudero, Madoussou Fall, Manaé Feleu, Celine Ferer, Maëlle Filopon, Joanna Grisez, Emeline Gros, Gaelle Hermet (captain), Chloe Jacquet, Clara Joyeux, Assia Khalfaoui, Coco Lindelauf, Melissande Llorens, Marjorie Mayans, Marine Ménager, Romane Ménager, Safi N’Diaye, Lina Queyroi, Laure Sansus, Agathe Sochat, Laure Touyé, Jessy Trémoulière, Gabrielle Vernier
