After their defeat against the Scots, les Bleus still have a chance to win the 2026 Tournament if they succeed on Saturday against the English. They will have to deal with several major absences.
Finishing in style. After the big disappointment at Murrayfield. If the French XV saw their dreams of Grand Slam disappear after being swept away in Scotland (50-40), they can still win this 2026 edition. By defeating England, the hated enemy, this Saturday at the Stade de France. Fabien Galthié revealed his team composition for this final outing in the Tournament. With three constraints: the injury of center Nicolas Depoortere (UBB), sidelined with a shoulder injury, the suspension of Oscar Jegou, after his ugly “dangerous tackle” against the Scots, and the last-minute withdrawal of Anthony Jelonch, out with hamstring injury and ruled out for Saturday.
The French staff has completely reshuffled its back row. Charles Ollivon (Toulon), who was used at lock during this Tournament, will start at number 8 for the second time in his career with the French XV (after Argentina in November 2024). With the withdrawal of Anthony Jelonch, who played in the last four matches at the flanker position, young Temo Matiu (UBB, 24 years old) will be launched behind the scrum against the English. A baptism of fire for the son of Legi Matiu, a second-row of New Zealand origin who became a French international during the Six Nations Tournament in 2000 under the direction of Bernard Laporte (2 selections).
In the center of the field, with the absence of Nicolas Depoortere, Pierre-Louis Barassi (Toulouse) – who was on the bench against Italy and Scotland – will start alongside Yoram Moefana (UBB), who had a poor performance last Saturday.
The other major change concerns the second row. After using the pair Charles Ollivon-Mickaël Guillard three times (Ireland, Wales, Scotland), the French staff chose the Toulouse pair Thibaud Flament-Emmanuel Meafou this time, considered more powerful to face the tough English side and already aligned against Italy. “Thibaud Flament may be the best in the world at his position and Emmanuel Meafou is not far behind. Having 150-kilo players capable of playing 80 minutes with such activity is quite rare,” highlighted William Servat, assistant in charge of forwards.
For the rest, no changes, with the half-back duo Antoine Dupont-Mathieu Jalibert logically retained, as well as the back three composed of Théo Attissogbe and Louis Bielle-Biarrey on the wings, with Thomas Ramos at fullback. There are some modifications on the bench: Hugo Auradou returns as a replacement, as does his teammate at Section Paloise, the versatile Emilien Gailleton, who can cover the center or wing positions.
For the replacement tighthead prop position, Fabien Galthié and his coaches have chosen to field Demba Bamba (Racing 92), as they did against Scotland. It is also worth noting that Joshua Brennan (Toulouse), who made his first two appearances last summer in New Zealand, joins the finishers’ bench in place of Lenni Nouchi (Montpellier), who had not impressed in his previous appearances in the first three games before faltering in Murrayfield.
The composition of les Bleus: Ramos – Attissogbe, Barassi, Moefana, Bielle-Biarrey – (o) Jalibert, (m) Dupont – Matiu, Ollivon, Cros – Meafou, Flament – Aldegheri, Marchand, Gros. Replacements: Mauvaka, Neti, Bamba, Auradou, Guillard, Brennan, Serin, Gailleton.
/2026/03/10/066-dppi-50626001-140-1-69afe5060bf45851247075.jpg "Six Nations 2026: Frenchman Oscar Jegou suspended four weeks for foul play and absence against Anglet")
