All you need to know about Les Bleus at Rugby World Cup 2019
France Rugby World Cup Fixtures, Squad, Group, Guide
France saved their best for last at the Rugby World Cup in Japan as they excelled in their quarter-final against Wales, but ultimately they fell short.
How They Qualified
France were one of the 12 automatic qualifiers for the 2019 tournament.
Key Players
Hooker Guilhem Guirado has a prodigious work-rate, Antoine Dupont provides slick service from scrum-half and Damian Penaud has stood out on the wing this year. Alivereti Raka has also made an impact out wide.
Captain fantastic: Guirado will probably lead the French in Japan (Getty Images)
The Coach – Jacques Brunel
An assistant coach during France’s RWC fourth-place finishes in 2003 and 2007, Brunel spent five years in charge of Italy. He answered an SOS in January 2018 after Guy Novès’s sickly 33% win rate saw him sacked.
SOS: Brunel became coach in January 2018 (Getty Images)
Major Work-ons
As always, consistency is crucial for France and it’s something that has long been lacking. Brunel needs to settle on a first XV, although no one really knows who is making managerial decisions now Fabien Galthie has joined the coaching team.
France Rugby World Cup Warm-ups
- Saturday 17 August: France 32-3 Scotland
- Saturday 24 August: Scotland 17-14 France
- Friday 30 August: France 47-19 Italy
Related: 2019 Rugby World Cup Warm-ups
France Rugby World Cup Group
France are in Group C alongside England, Argentina, USA, and Tonga.
Related: 2019 Rugby World Cup Groups
France Rugby World Cup Kit
France Rugby World Cup Fixtures
- Sat 21 Sep France 23-21 Argentina (Tokyo) Match report
- Wed 2 Oct France 33-9 USA (Fukuoka) Match Report
- Sun 6 Oct France 23-21 Tonga (Kumamoto) Match Report
- Sat 12 Oct England 0-0 France (Yokohama) Match cancelled – click here for story
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Sun 20 Oct QF3 Wales 20-19 France (Oita) Match Report
England Rugby World Cup Fixtures, Squad, Group, Guide
After a disastrous home World Cup in 2015,…
Argentina Rugby World Cup Fixtures, Squad, Group, Guide
Los Pumas failed to make it to the…
USA Rugby World Cup Fixtures, Squad, Group, Guide
The Americans have been building in the right…
Tonga Rugby World Cup Fixtures, Squad, Group, Guide
Unlikely to proceed to the knockout stages, Tonga…
Blue and white: France play England in their final group game (Getty Images)
France Rugby World Cup Squad
Jacques Brunel has named his squad for the tournament as you can see below;
Forwards (17):
Jefferson Poirot
Rabah Slimani
Demba Bamba (replaced by Cedate Gomes Sa after suffering a thigh injury)
Emerick Setiano
Cyril Baille
Guilhem Guirado
Camille Chat
Peato Mauvaka (replaced by Christopher Tolofua after suffering a hip strain)
Sebastien Vahaamahina
Paul Gabrillagues
Arthur Iturria
Bernard Le Roux
Gregory Alldritt
Charles Ollivon
Louis Picamoles
Yacouba Camara
Wenceslas Lauret
Backs (14):
Antoine Dupont
Baptiste Serin
Maxime Machenaud
Camille Lopez
Romain Ntamack
Gael Fickou
Pierre-Louis Barassi
Sofiane Guitoune
Virimi Vakatawa
Yoann Huget
Alivereti Raka
Damian Penaud
Maxime Medard
Thomas Ramos (replaced by Vincent Rattez after suffering an ankle injury)
Related: 2019 Rugby World Cup Fixtures
Previous World Cup Results and Record
France’s Rugby World Cup Record: P53 W36 D2 L15
- 1987 Runners-up
- 1991 Quarter-finals
- 1995 Third
- 1999 Runners-up
- 2003 Fourth
- 2007 Fourth
- 2011 Runners-up
- 2015 Quarter-finals
- 2019 Quarter-finals
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