France Rugby Team Lineup for Upcoming Match: Bordeaux-Begles Dominance and Notable Absences
French champions Toulouse and Montpellier finalists were absent from the recent clash, with head coach Fabien Galthie selecting a Bordeaux-heavy side for the match. The team includes eight Bordeaux-Begles players, with Maxime Lamothe, Jefferson Poirot, Pierre Bochaton, and Marko Gazzotti among them. Maxime Lucu will lead the team as captain at scrum-half, partnering with Matthieu Jalibert at fly-half, while Yoram Moefana and Damian Penaud from Bordeaux-Begles are also in the lineup. Penaud, the top try scorer for France, was excluded from the Six Nations squad due to perceived defensive errors. Fullback Max Spring, whose father is from France, will earn his second cap for the country, following in the footsteps of his brother Tom, who played during the 2025 tour of New Zealand. France faced a 3-0 defeat in that series, as they had to leave players behind due to club commitments. The French lineup for the upcoming match includes Max Spring, Damian Penaud, Fabien Brau-Boirie, Yoram Moefana, Theo Attissogbe, Matthieu Jalibert, Maxime Lucu, Marko Gazzotti, Oscar Jegou, Pierre Bochaton, Tom Staniforth, Hugo Auradou, Demba Bamba, Maxime Lamothe, and Jefferson Poirot. The replacements are Barnabe Massa, Reda Wardi, Regis Montagne, Mickael Guillard, Killian Tixeront, Nolann Le Garrec, Antoine Hastoy, and Nicolas Depoortere.