Fabien Galthié has made some headline-grabbing changes to the France Six Nations 2025 team as they prepare face Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
As Les Bleus attempt to get their championship back on course after their last-minute defeat to England two weeks ago, prolific wing Damian Penaud drops out of the 23. The head coach has also followed the lead of South Africa’s enhanced Bomb Squad by naming a 7-1 split among his replacements.
Théo Attissogbé, who scored two tries against Wales on the opening day, comes into the starting XV in place of Penaud. Louis Bielle Biarrey continues on the other wing, while Galthié keeps faith with the centre pairing of Pierre-Louis Barassi and Yoram Moefana. Thomas Ramos moves to fly-half in place of Matthieu Jalibert, starting alongside captain and Toulouse teammate Antoine Dupont. Léo Barré comes into the side at full-back.
In the pack, there’s a new pair of locks in the form of Thibaud Flament and Mickaël Guillard. The rest of the forwards are unchanged, with a front row of Jean-Baptiste Gros, Peato Mauvaka and Uini Atonio, and a back row of François Cros, Paul Boudehent and Grégory Alldritt.
France are known for their power up front, and that’s set to be accentuated by that 7-1 split on the bench. Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille, Dorian Aldegheri, Romain Taofifénua, Alexandre Roumat, Oscar Jégou and Anthony Jelonch provide forward cover. Scrum-half Maxime Lucu is the lone back.
Italy v France kicks off at 3.00pm GMT on Sunday 23 February.
France Six Nations team v Italy
15. Léo Barré
14. Théo Attissogbé
13. Pierre-Louis Barassi
12. Yoram Moefana
11. Louis Bielle-Biarrey
10. Thomas Ramos
9. Antoine Dupont (captain)
1. Jean-Baptiste Gros
2. Peato Mauvaka
3. Uini Atonio
4. Thibaud Flament
5. Mickaël Guillard
6. François Cros
7. Paul Boudehent
8. Grégory Alldritt
Replacements:
16. Julien Marchand
17. Cyril Baille
18. Dorian Aldegheri
19. Romain Taofifénua
20. Alexandre Roumat
21. Oscar Jégou
22. Anthony Jelonch
23. Maxime Lucu
France Six Nations team v England
15. Thomas Ramos
14. Damian Penaud
13. Pierre-Louis Barassi
12. Yoram Moefana
11. Louis Bielle-Biarrey
10. Matthieu Jalibert
9. Antoine Dupont (captain)
1. Jean-Baptiste Gros
2. Peato Mauvaka
3. Uini Atonio
4. Alexandre Roumat
5. Emmanuel Meafou
6. François Cros
7. Paul Boudehent
8. Grégory Alldritt
Replacements:
16. Julien Marchand
17. Cyril Baille
18. Georges-Henri Colombe
19. Hugo Auradou
20. Mickaël Guillard
21. Oscar Jégou
22. Nolann Le Garrec
23. Émilien Gailleton
France Six Nations team v Wales
15. Thomas Ramos
14. Théo Attissogbé
13. Pierre-Louis Barassi
12. Yoram Moefana
11. Louis Bielle-Biarrey
10. Romain Ntamack
9. Antoine Dupont (captain)
1. Jean-Baptiste Gros
2. Peato Mauvaka
3. Uini Atonio
4. Alexandre Roumat
5. Emmanuel Meafou
6. François Cros
7. Paul Boudehent
8. Grégory Alldritt
Replacements:
16. Julien Marchand
17. Cyril Baille
18. Georges-Henri Colombe
19. Hugo Auradou
20. Mickaël Guillard
21. Oscar Jégou
22. Nolann Le Garrec
23. Émilien Gailleton
France Six Nations squad 2025
Forwards
Esteban Abadie
Dorian Aldegheri
Grégory Alldritt
Uini Atonio
Hugo Auradou
Cyril Baille
Giorgi Beria
Paul Boudehent
Joshua Brennan
Georges-Henri Colombe
François Cros
Thibaud Flament
Marko Gazzotti
Jean-Baptiste Gros
Mickaël Guillard
Matthias Halagahu
Oscar Jégou
Anthony Jelonch
Maxime Lamothe
Julien Marchand
Peato Mauvaka
Emmanuel Meafou
Dany Priso
Alexandre Roumat
Rabah Slimani
Romain Taofifénua
Backs
Théo Attissogbé
Pierre-Louis Barassi
Leo Barré
Louis Bielle-Biarrey
Nicolas Depoortère
Gaël Dréan
Antoine Dupont
Antoine Frisch
Émilien Gailleton
Matthieu Jalibert
Nolann Le Garrec
Maxime Lucu
Yoram Moefana
Noah Nene
Romain Ntamack
Damian Penaud
Thomas Ramos
Gabin Villière
France Six Nations squad: Line-ups from every match in 2024
Round 1: v Ireland (Orange Velodrome, Marseille)
Starting XV: Thomas Ramos; Damian Penaud, Gaël Fickou, Jonathan Danty, Yoram Moefana; Matthieu Jalibert, Maxime Lucu; Cyril Baille, Peato Mauvaka, Uini Atonio, Paul Gabrillagues, Paul Willemse, François Cros, Charles Ollivon, Grégory Alldritt (captain).
Replacements: Julien Marchand, Reda Wardi, Dorian Aldegheri, Posolo Tuilagi, Cameron Woki, Paul Boudehent, Nolann le Garrec, Louis Bielle-Biarrey
Result: France 17-38 Ireland
Round 2: v Scotland (Murrayfield)
Starting XV: Thomas Ramos; Damian Penaud, Gaël Fickou, Jonathan Danty, Louis Bielle-Biarrey; Matthieu Jalibert, Maxime Lucu; Cyril Baille, Peato Mauvaka, Uini Atonio, Cameron Woki, Paul Gabrillagues, François Cros, Charles Ollivon, Grégory Alldritt (captain).
Replacements: Julien Marchand, Sébastien Taofifénua, Dorian Aldegheri, Posolo Tuilagi, Alexandre Roumat, Paul Boudehent, Nolann le Garrec, Yoram Moefana
Result: Scotland 16-20 France
Round 3: v Italy (Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
Starting XV: Thomas Ramos; Damian Penaud, Gael Fickou, Jonathan Danty, Louis Bielle-Biarrey; Matthieu Jalibert, Maxime Lucu; Cyril Baille, Peato Mauvaka, Uini Atonio, Cameron Woki, Posolo Tuilagi, Paul Boudehent, Charles Ollivon, François Cros.
Replacements: Julian Marchand, Sébastien Taofifénua, Dorian Aldegheri, Romain Taofifénua, Alexandre Roumat, Esteban Abadie, Nolann Le Garrec, Yoram Moefana
Result: France 13-13 Italy
Round 4: v Wales (Principality Stadium)
Starting XV: Léo Barré; Damian Penaud, Gael Fickou, Nicolas Depoortère, Louis Bielle-Biarrey; Thomas Ramos, Nolann Le Garrec; Cyril Baille, Julian Marchand, Uini Atonio, Thibaud Flament, Emmanuel Meafou, François Cros, Charles Ollivon, Gregory Alldritt.
Replacements: Peato Mauvaka, Sébastien Taofifénua, Georges-Henri Colombe, Romain Taofifénua, Alexandre Roumat, Paul Boudehent, Maxime Lucu, Yoram Moefana
Result: Wales 24-45 France
Round 5: v England (Groupama Stadium, Lyon)
Starting XV: Léo Barré; Damian Penaud, Gael Fickou, Nicolas Depoortère, Louis Bielle-Biarrey; Thomas Ramos, Nolann Le Garrec; Cyril Baille, Julian Marchand, Uini Atonio, Thibaud Flament, Emmanuel Meafou, François Cros, Charles Ollivon, Gregory Alldritt.
Replacements: Peato Mauvaka, Sébastien Taofifénua, Georges-Henri Colombe, Romain Taofifénua, Alexandre Roumat, Paul Boudehent, Maxime Lucu, Yoram Moefana
Result: France 33-31 England
France Six Nations squad 2024
Forwards
Esteban Abadie (Toulon)
Dorian Aldegheri (Toulouse)
Grégory Alldritt (La Rochelle) (Captain)
Uini Atonio (La Rochelle)
Cyril Baille (Toulouse)
Gaëtan Barlot (Castres Olympique)
Paul Boudehent (La Rochelle)
François Cros (Toulouse)
Paul Gabrillagues (Stade Français)
Matthias Halagahu (Toulon)
Anthony Jelonch (Toulouse)
Thomas Laclayat (Racing 92)
Julien Marchand (Toulouse)
Peato Mauvaka (Toulouse)
Emmanuel Meafou (Toulouse)
Charles Ollivon (Toulon)
Romain Taofifenua (Lyon)
Sébastien Taofifenua (Lyon)
Reda Wardi (La Rochelle)
Cameron Woki (Racing 92)
Backs
Louis Bielle-Biarrey (Bordeaux-Bègles)
Jonathan Danty (La Rochelle)
Nicolas Depoortère (Bordeaux-Bègles)
Gaël Fickou (Racing 92)
Emilien Gailleton (Section Paloise)
Antoine Gibert (Racing 92)
Matthieu Jalibert (Bordeaux-Bègles))
Melvyn Jaminet (Toulon)
Nolann Le Garrec (Racing 92)
Matthis Lebel (Toulouse)
Maxime Lucu (Bordeaux-Bègles)
Yoram Moefana (Bordeaux-Bègles)
Damian Penaud (Bordeaux-Bègles)
Thomas Ramos (Toulouse)
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