mens
nations-championship
Bayonne Esteban Capilla from the back row is ready for his France debut on Saturday against Fiji in Nations Championship in Lyon after being called on the bench by Fabien Galthie.
Afterwards Toulouse back row Anthony Jelonch joined France’s major injury list at the weekend after suffering a head injury in the last round Top 14 In action, Galthie turned to the 23-year-old France Sevens international as back-row cover on the bench.
Jelonch is a member of the victim list which includes Emmanuel Meafou, Thibaud Flament, Matthieu Jalibert and Thomas Ramos. In his absence, Francois Cros will start in the No. 8 position, with Cameron Woki and Paul Boudehent on either flank.
However, there are plenty of star names in the squad, with captain Antoine Dupont set to repeat his half-back partnership with club-mate Romain Ntamacko in blue for the first time since March 2025. A series of injuries to the pair, as well as strategic rests, have prevented the duo from gracing the Test stage together.
Despite losing Meafou and Flament in the engine room, Galthie was left with four second rows in his squad with a 6-2 split on the bench. Florian Verhaeghe from Montpellier and Mickaël Guillard from Lyon will start the match, while Charles Ollivon and Tom Staniforth will be selected on the bench.
France XV: 15 Théo Attissogbe, 14 Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, 13 Kalvin Gourgues, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c); 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 3 Sipili Falatea, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 5 Mickaël Guillard, 6 Cameron Woki, 7 Paul Boudehent, 8 François Cros.
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Jefferson Poirot, 18 Régis Montagne, 19 Charles Ollivon, 20 Tom Staniforth, 21 Esteban Capilla, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Emilien Gailleton.