RBS 6 Nations 2016 News: Guy Noves to lead young France side

Noyes names his France squad for RBS 6 Nations 2016

France manager Guy Novès has named eight uncapped rugby players to his 31-man France RBS 6 Nations side including sevens star Virimi Vakatawa. With an eye on the next four years, sixty-one-year-old Novès named eight new faces with only one player over 30 to his France Rugby 6 Nations national team.

The France giant’s best 31 will meet at their training camp between January 25 and 27 to get ready for their first RBS 6 Nations battle against Italy on February 6 in their opening match at home at Stade de France in Paris.

Former France boss Philippe Saint-André, failed to take his men to finish in the top half in each of his four years as boss, and was replaced by Noyes, the second oldest manager in Six Nations competition this year. After replacing Philippe Saint-André as head coach, Novès has made sweeping changes on his France side due in part to the retirement of a number of players since the World Cup 2015.

New France manager Noyes is looking to set up his side to not only finish in the top half this campaign, but is setting up a team that will be stable for years ahead with a new wave of uncapped players that once trained to win as a team will refresh both the backline and entire pack for at least four years.

"We wanted to see 35 - 36 players knowing that the training camps would give us the chance to see the players who interested us,” said Noyes. "It would be restrictive to say that there is an age limit. We have a squad that should allow us some continuity. But it's certain that without setting an exact limit, we have an eye on the four years to come."

New on the squad this season is aggressive Virimi Vakatawa, a French Sevens star who previously played for Racing and is expected to be a high impact player on the France RBS 6 Nations side this campaign. New France rugby players include twenty-year-old forward Camille Chat, who made his pro debut at the start of the 2016 season. Last season, the Racing 92 hooker was a standout for France Under-20s.

"Camille Chat will face the highest level but if we wait too long, it might be too late. In fact we've had some great feedback on him from his club coaches," continued Noyes.

Watch out for dynamic twenty-two-year-old Clermont second Paul Jedrasiak who broke through at the end of last season and is now a key second row rugby player on the side. Novès believes Jedrasiak will fit right into France’s game plan despite his tender years.

"He's a player of the future,” remarked Noyes about Jedrasiak. “We tried to get young players in each position. We think he's dynamic, intelligent, capable of scoring tries, and adapting and playing with his head up rather than being stereotyped."

Jules Plisson, who started for France in last season's final against England, is one candidate to start as fly-half as is Toulousse No.10 Jean-Marc Doussain. François Trinh-Duc is out due to injury but back in training for Montpellier.

Call-ups in the front-row are for forwards Camille Chat and Jefferson Poirot. Second row call-ups include Clermont’s Paul Jedrasiak. Back row call-ups include uncapped Toulouse player Yacouba Camara and La Rochelle's Kevin Gourdon. Antoine Burban and Wenceslas Lauret have been recalled. Back-row call-ups are scrum-half Sébastien Bézy along with Stade Français center Jonathan Danty. Uncapped Vakatawa, formerly of Racing 92, and currently starring on the Sevens circuit, will be an important part of the squad. Fly-half-cover Jean-Marc Doussain is recalled along with Hugo Bonneval.

France 1st Team for RBS 6 Nations 2016 Championship

Captain

Guilhem Guirado

Forwards

Uini Atonio (La Rochelle)

Eddy Ben Arous (Racing 92)

Jefferson Poirot (Bordeaux-Bègles)

Rabah Slimani (Stade Français)

Camille Chat (Racing 92)

Guilhem Guirado (RC Toulon) (c)

Alexandre Flanquart (Stade Français)

Paul Jedrasiak (Clermont Auvergne)

Yoann Maestri (Toulouse)

Sébastien Vahaamahina (Clermont Auvergne)

Antoine Burban (Stade Français)

Yacouba Camara (Toulouse)

Damien Chouly (Clermont)

Kevin Gourdon (La Rochelle)

Wenceslas Lauret (Racing 92)

Louis Picamoles (Toulouse)

Backs

Sébastien Bézy (Toulouse)

Maxime Machenaud (Racing 92)

Morgan Parra (Clermont Auvergne)

Jean-Marc Doussain (Toulouse)

Jules Plisson (Stade Français)

Jonathan Danty (Stade Français)

Alexandre Dumoulin (Racing 92)

Gaël Fickou (Toulouse)

Wesley Fofana (Clermont Auvergne)

Rémi Lamerat (Castres)

Hugo Bonneval (Stade Français)

Benjamin Fall (Montpellier)

Maxime Médard (Toulouse)

Scott Spedding (Clermont Auvergne)

Virimi Vakatawa (FFR)

France Rugby tickets & schedule

The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving European rugby union sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions are Ireland, having won the RBS 6 Nations 2015 Tournament.

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