Former Junior Boks captain Jeremy Ward earns surprise France Nations Championship call-up

Jeremy Ward, the South African-born Stade Francais centre who captained the Junior Springboks in 2016, has been included in Fabien Galthié’s 42-man France squad for the Nations Championship fixtures in November, according to L’Equipe.

The 30-year-old, who moved to France in 2022, will not yet be eligible to represent Les Bleus on residency grounds and is not expected to make his Test debut until 2027. His inclusion in the squad is designed to integrate him into the national setup ahead of that milestone, with Ward attending training camps in preparation.

Ward’s selection came at the expense of Nicolas Depoortère, who is seven years his junior. Two other uncapped players also feature in the squad: La Rochelle’s 135kg prop Karl Sorin and Ward’s Stade Francais midfield partner Tani Vili.

The squad also marks the return of former captain Grégory Alldritt and record try scorer Damian Penaud, adding experience to a group that will face Fiji at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon on 7 November, before hosting South Africa and Argentina on consecutive Saturdays at the Stade de France on 14 and 21 November.

France are without a significant number of senior internationals through injury, with Matthieu Jalibert, Thomas Ramos, Julien Marchand, Emmanuel Meafou, Thibaud Flament, Demba Bamba and Lenni Nouchi all ruled out.

France’s Nations Championship squad for November:

Forwards: Grégory Alldritt, Hugo Auradou, Paul Boudehent, Joshua Brennan, Esteban Capilla, Guillaume Cramont, François Cros, Tyler Duguid, Sipili Falatea, Alexandre Fischer, Marko Gazzotti, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Mickaël Guillard, Oscar Jegou, Maxime Lamothe, Peato Mauvaka, Charles Ollivon, Jefferson Poirot, Karl Sorin, Thomas Staniforth, Tevita Tatafu, Reda Wardi, Cameron Woki.

Backs: Théo Attissogbe, Léo Barré, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Fabien Brau-Boirie, Axel Desperes, Antoine Dupont, Mathis Ferté, Théo Forner, Émilien Gailleton, Kalvin Gourgues, Aaron Grandidier Nkanang, Antoine Hastoy, Nolann Le Garrec, Maxime Lucu, Yoram Moefana, Romain Ntamack, Damian Penaud, Tani Vili, Jeremy Ward.