The Daddy Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Ok so after the first few weeks of the season this is my thoughts based on form, performance and potential on who should be selected for the France national team. It's looking really positive for the French team, even with quite a few players making themselves unavailable they showed they were a class above Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The TO players have gone up a level this year and I have no qualms about including them as professional players side by side with SL players. They add depth and options to the team. On the flip side I think the gap between Elite and international football is too big, whilst there are players there with potential it's just too much to expect them as semi pro players to make that leap. I would refrain from selecting them and would only include Valentin Yesa if all players are fit. The RFL really need to take some positive steps to create a rivalry between them and the full England squad. Yes they will get their behinds beat on the first few occasions but can we just stick to a strategy of getting them competitive? Too much short term thinking in the sport in Europe. Anyway, here goes. Full back Kherellah, Gigot 2 very good options and both classy players. Who are goalkickers and play like an extra half back. Gigot isn't playing his best football right now but Kherellah has just gone from strength to strength. Wingers Yaha, Escare, Bergal, Marcon The biggest boost to the national squad is Yaha returning from Union. He's a big, modern winger, Escare is still nippy and quick whilst Bergal is great cover and one for the future. Centres Garcia, Marguerite, Miloudi, Ader I don't think a single French player has stamped their authority on the centre position, but I do think they have good options here that they didn't have a few years ago and players with good potential like Romano and Jussame. Marguerite looks like he's added a few yards of pace in the off season and has started the season well. I would also toy with the idea of playing Rhys Curran at centre. Half Backs Fages, Robin, Albert Robin and Fages have been absolutely sensational in these first few weeks of the season and they would be my starting pair. They are both technically gifted and versatile with good passing games off both sides and long and short kicking games. Robin's support play is superb he's so switched on. Albert is a very good back up option and will continue to improve, imo he brings more to the table than Matty Smith at Catalans and I'd like to see him get more game time. Hookers Marion, Da Costa, Pelissier 3 very good options here and contrasting styles of hooker. This indicates how much depth the squad has developed. Pelissier has always been one of the better performing players for France against the top 3 and it's great to see him back at the top level. He's improved and calmed down a bit too. Marion is a great leader, very consistent, reliable. Props Bousquet, Sangare, Simon, Belmas, Maria, Yesa Prop is France's achilles heel. It's a real shame that Casty has retired coz I think some of the younger props need more time to develop and aren't quite ready yet. In the World Cup it was clear that their pack was small and needed to bring players in with a bit more grunt to compete with the top 3. The emergence of Sangare helps in that respect he's a big unit and difficult to handle. Belmas is also an emerging player and adds some good physicality they've been previously lacking. But both Belmas and Sangare have a bit to go before you can class them as top draw. Yesa adds decent impact but he needs to come over to England and prove himself against the best Second Row Julien, Curran, Mika, Hepi, Am I right in saying Mika and Hepi are eligible now for France? If so you've really got to include them. Mika has been outstanding this year he would add a dimension of play from the back row France didn't have before and would cause opposing teams problems. He has size, a very good offload and decent footwork. He's improved a lot and reminds me of David Solomona, an X factor player. France definitely have more options and size in the second row than they've had previously. Loose Forward Goudemand, Baitieri, Mika, Dezaria I'd be tempted to go with Mika at loose forward just to add a bit of beef to the pack. Goudemand is getting better and better, whilst Dezaria is underrated but brings a lot to the table. Some depth and options here. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Ste Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 William Barthau? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshmagpie Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Please don’t throw Mika and Hepi in as French. Mika is a Samoan international, who was most recently named in the USA train on squad last year. Hepi is a Kiwi. Anyway, moan aside... Do France have any fixtures lined up this year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJW Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Heard whisper they may be playing Jamaica but nothing official yet. My wife complains I selfishly stop her fulfilling her true ambition - she really wants to be a rich widow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Kevin Sinfield Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Gadwin Springer is another prop they could pick. I think France have a team of steady players for international level. If they were to find a couple of players with the quality of Sam Burgess and Gareth Widdop, they could become competitive with tier one Nations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latchford albion Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 No love for Navarrete? He is surely better than Springer. France need to be playing against England at home. "I'm a traditionalist and I don"t think you'd ever see me coaching an Australian national side!" Lee Radford, RLW March 2016 Proud to be a member of the TRL woke claque Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Daddy Posted March 24, 2019 Author Share Posted March 24, 2019 1 hour ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said: Gadwin Springer is another prop they could pick. I think France have a team of steady players for international level. If they were to find a couple of players with the quality of Sam Burgess and Gareth Widdop, they could become competitive with tier one Nations. I don't think they're far off. They're a bit light on the prop front and as you say a Sam Burgess type player or two would make a huge difference. They lack an enforcer in the pack like a Morley or Peacock or Ellis. If they had some of the forwards they had a few years back like Raguin, Fakir, Ferriol, Guisset they would be a lot more competitive. Why are they lacking these types of forwards now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Daddy Posted March 24, 2019 Author Share Posted March 24, 2019 2 minutes ago, latchford albion said: No love for Navarrete? He is surely better than Springer. France need to be playing against England at home. Forgot about Naverette. Good shout and I would definitely include him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cdd Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Surely you wouldn’t leave out Navarette? Grand final winning French player! 1. Kherellah 2. Escare 3. Miloudi 4. Garcia 5. Yaha 6. Gigot 7. Fages 8. Casty 9. Da Costa 10. Bousquets 11. Julien 12. Baitieri 13. Goudemand 14. Simon 15. Maria 16. Pelissier 17. Springer Decent side if everyone is fully fit. Serious quality in the halves which could bring the best out of the rest of the side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost crayfish Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Surely a few tests against England while GB are away could be arranged? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerner80 Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 3 hours ago, ghost crayfish said: Surely a few tests against England while GB are away could be arranged? Agree at least a one off away day in France for the England team sans the Lions would make alot of sense. A one off game would mean the Les Dracs players will all be available as its only 1 game not 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oiseau Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Agree with your list Daddy but I would consider Clément Boyer and Max Puech at prop. Both are well disciplined (now that Canet has departed) and never seem to have a bad game.Sangaré has to be a future international surely ? Jussaume looks a class act as does Romano, defintely two for the future. On current fom Tony Maurel looks the part een though I have been critical of him early season. he looks quicker than ever and must be close to Marguerite as the quickest member of the TO13 squad over 100 M. We shouldn't forget Mourad Kriouache at hooker. Ok, he's no onger at TO (mainly for money and personal reasons) but he is a fine player. I watched him at Albi on saturday and he had to play 70 minutes due to a injury to the starting hooker and he looked a different class Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audois Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 10 hours ago, Cdd said: Surely you wouldn’t leave out Navarette? Grand final winning French player! 1. Kherellah 2. Escare 3. Miloudi 4. Garcia 5. Yaha 6. Gigot 7. Fages 8. Casty 9. Da Costa 10. Bousquets 11. Julien 12. Baitieri 13. Goudemand 14. Simon 15. Maria 16. Pelissier 17. Springer Decent side if everyone is fully fit. Serious quality in the halves which could bring the best out of the rest of the side. Lucas Albert shown up well last two weeks with 2 vital winning tries for the Dragons. Started for the time at hooker. The week before scored four tries against St Gaudens playing at centre. Still only 20 yrs old and already forty SL games to his credit. Played at full back and in the halves too. His utility value growing. "It involves matters much greater than drafting the new rules...the original and existing games have their own powerful appeal to their players and public and have the sentiments which history inspires" - Harold 'Jersey' Flegg 1933 "Just as we had been Cathars, we were treizistes, men apart." - Jean Roque, Calendrier-revue du Racing-Club Albigeois, 1958-1959 Si tu( Remi Casty) devais envoyer un fax au Président Guasch? " Un grand bravo pour ce que vous avez fait,et merci de m 'avoir embarqué dans cette aventure" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number 16 Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 11 hours ago, Cdd said: Surely you wouldn’t leave out Navarette? Grand final winning French player! You did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Nash Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Hakim Miloudi is not a centre. I'd hate to be the winger trying to play off him. I am a massive fan of his before anyone says owt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Stottle Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 23 hours ago, Southerner80 said: Agree at least a one off away day in France for the England team sans the Lions would make alot of sense. A one off game would mean the Les Dracs players will all be available as its only 1 game not 3. It was only a one off at the LSV last season and most of the Dracs player's cried off, quite a few French club players turned out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost crayfish Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 18 hours ago, audois said: Lucas Albert shown up well last two weeks with 2 vital winning tries for the Dragons. Started for the time at hooker. The week before scored four tries against St Gaudens playing at centre. Still only 20 yrs old and already forty SL games to his credit. Played at full back and in the halves too. His utility value growing. Based on the little I've seen of him, I think he has the potential to be a real quality halfback. But to get there, maybe he needs this time playing different roles, learning the game, and getting experience and confidence. I hope people are patient with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 1 hour ago, Harry Stottle said: It was only a one off at the LSV last season and most of the Dracs player's cried off, quite a few French club players turned out. I don't think Catalans players attitude towards playing for France as been very good over the years. However when you downplay and hide friendlies away at the LSV on a Wednesday night and don't treat the match with any respect at all then no one should be surprised when players then also treat the match with the same contempt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerner80 Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 My team assuming all fit and available. Kheirallah , Escare, Julien, Ader, Yaha, Fages, Gigot Navarrette , Pellissier, Simon, Garcia, Casty, Goudemond Albert, Di Maria, Bousquet, Batieri. I put Escare on the wing instead of at FB as this makes use of the resources better, ie Escare IMO is a better FB, however Escare is a better wing than other options. I have Gigot at HB again to balance the talents. Robin is out of the 17 however the players could be shuffled. Gigot could go to FB. Robin to HB. Kheirallah out of the 17. Albert in the 17 for utility value. Miloudi just out too as makes defensive errors and am loathed to leave out Escare. Would consider Yaha in the back row to fit in Miloudi but that seems not using Yaha to his try scoring best. I acknowledge not all of the pack would be available, and that highlights the issue of lack of SL level players. I would think Curran would play at international level. However with all due respect I don't see Springer as suitable. There is a lack of forwards indeed! Dare I say it a few residence players maybe 2 forwards would really help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cdd Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 1 hour ago, Southerner80 said: My team assuming all fit and available. Kheirallah , Escare, Julien, Ader, Yaha, Fages, Gigot Navarrette , Pellissier, Simon, Garcia, Casty, Goudemond Albert, Di Maria, Bousquet, Batieri. I put Escare on the wing instead of at FB as this makes use of the resources better, ie Escare IMO is a better FB, however Escare is a better wing than other options. I have Gigot at HB again to balance the talents. Robin is out of the 17 however the players could be shuffled. Gigot could go to FB. Robin to HB. Kheirallah out of the 17. Albert in the 17 for utility value. Miloudi just out too as makes defensive errors and am loathed to leave out Escare. Would consider Yaha in the back row to fit in Miloudi but that seems not using Yaha to his try scoring best. I acknowledge not all of the pack would be available, and that highlights the issue of lack of SL level players. I would think Curran would play at international level. However with all due respect I don't see Springer as suitable. There is a lack of forwards indeed! Dare I say it a few residence players maybe 2 forwards would really help. A team with so much genuine home grown talent deserves home games against the likes of England, New Zealand, Australia and Tonga. France could be competitive on home soil given the chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number 16 Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 In preparation for the 2021 RLWC we need to schedule in meaningful mid-season tests IN France in 2020 and 2021. Pick two from four venues from Toulouse, Carcassonne, Perpignan and Avignon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerner80 Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Can't France at least have one home mid season game v England every year And one post season home or away game v Wales every year? Ideally home and away v Wales as both France and Wales are at a roughly similar level. Games will be competitive. That won't break the bank yet it will give meaningful games. Further at home, France can sell OK numbers for NZ to go there and even every few years OZ. Just keep the games in the South and aim to sell out Avignon or Stade Gilbert or if really ambitious Toulouses part time home that can take 19k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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