XV of France: Meafou, Le Garrec, Depoortère, Barré… discovering the new faces of the Blues

Les nouveaux visages du XV de France. – FFR et MAXPPP.

Emmanuel Meafou in the second row, Nolann Le Garrec at the scrum, Nicolas Depoortère in the center and Léo Barré at the back: the XV of France will present a new face against Wales on Sunday in the Tournament of Six nations.

Meafou, the gentle giant

"He's big, he's strong, he goes fast, he's very skilled with the ball in his hands. He's a basketball player!" In a few words, Shaun Edwards, the coach of the French defense, sums up what the colossus of Australian origin (2.03 m, 145 kg) can bring to the Blues.

Recovered from a sprained knee, the second row has always proclaimed his desire to one day defend the colors of France and lives "really a dream" today. That of coach Fabien Galthié, who wanted to associate him with his partner in Toulouse Thibaud Flament, will therefore take place in Cardiff.

To the delight also of the French scrum coach William Servat, who saw Meafou debut on the banks of the Garonne. "Of the second lines who manage to string together matches by playing almost 80 minutes each time, there aren't many", greets the former hooker. "He has improved tremendously on his collision heights, both offensively and defensively".

The advent of Le Garrec

A rugby enthusiast, the Breton scrum half will experience his first international start at the age of 21 after three first selections coming off the bench.

"Nolann is always with a rugby ball, with rugby images…", Laurent Travers, trainer and then president of Racing 92, once explained to AFP, before praising his "technical ability to pass very quickly" and his "footwork, very long, very precise".

Qualities which will serve the French XV after a disappointing start to the Tournament with Bordeaux-Bègles player Maxime Lucu at the helm. Sharp when he comes into play, Le Garrec seems programmed for the very high level.

In Wales, he will have a new card to play to integrate the rotation behind the untouchable Antoine Dupont.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿⚡️🇫🇷 𝐋𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐎 des Bleus pour affronter le Pays de Galles ! #GALFRA

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Depoortère, the new star

The UBB nugget certainly took advantage of Jonathan Danty's suspension to slip into the starting XV, but it was above all his sparkling club performances that earned him his place alongside Gaël Fickou in the center.

The under-20 world champion, who only discovered the Top 14 at the end of December 2022, is a powerful and fast player. This first in Blue is "a childhood dream", salivate the interested party."I was kind of expecting that. I was always associated with Gaël in training (this week) so it smelled pretty good".

Also read: XV of France: Depoortere and Meafou will honor their first cap against Wales on Sunday

"Jo (Danty) had taken a red card in the previous match and, as usual, I tried to take advantage of my last club match to show the best of myself", he added, modestly after his double against Racing.

Barred, itinerary of a spoiled child

A great gobbler of space, the 21-year-old Parisian once again sneaked in to win his starting place. He took advantage of Thomas Ramos' slip from behind at the opening to seize N.15. It must be said that his performances are impressive in the jersey of Stade français, leader of the Top 14.

Trained as an opener but now fixed at the back, Barré is a fine raiser, who has climbed the ranks with his tall compasses (1.89 m). "It's a logical progression that he finds himself there", believes the coach of the French side Laurent Sempéré, who knew him within of the Parisian club.