Galthie floods France squad with nine Bordeaux-Bègles players for England XV clash in Vannes

Fabien Galthie has named a 28-man France squad to face an England XV in Vannes on Friday, leaning heavily on European Champions Cup winners Bordeaux-Bègles, who contribute nine players to the group despite missing out on the Top 14 play-offs.

Galthie has capitalised on Bordeaux’s early domestic exit to integrate their players into the international setup, with loosehead prop Jefferson Poirot among those recalled. Notably absent, however, are three of the club’s most prominent names — scrum-half Maxime Lucu, fly-half Matthieu Jalibert and wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey — none of whom feature in the squad for the uncapped fixture.

Pau and La Rochelle, both eliminated from the Top 14 at the quarter-final stage over the weekend, are also well represented. One conspicuous omission remains number eight Gregory Alldritt, who was left out of France’s Six Nations squad earlier this year and again finds no place here.

On the England side, head coach Steve Borthwick has recalled Bath centre Max Ojomoh as part of a 13-strong contingent drawn from Gallagher Premiership semi-final losers Leicester Tigers and Bath. The two squads will meet in Vannes on Friday in what amounts to a mid-season development fixture for both nations.