The French coaching team unveiled this Thursday the list of 30 Blueberries selected for the Under-20 World Championship (June 24 to July 14 in Cape Town, South Africa). With two notable absences. Those of the captain, Émilien Gailleton, and Louis Bielle-Biarrey, two executives of the U20. This strongly suggests that the two young talents are applying to be part of the group of 42 players to prepare for the World Cup to be unveiled on June 21 by Fabien Galthié.
To discover
- The 2023 World Cup calendar
At 19 years old, Section Paloise centre Émilien Gailleton finished top scorer in the regular phase of the Top 14 with 14 tries scored (in 24 appearances). UBB winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who will celebrate his 20th birthday on June 19, has started 17 Top 14 games with the Gironde club.
«These two players remain at the disposal of the XV of France to prepare the major event of this end of the year»
«These two players remain at the disposal of the XV of France to prepare the major event of this end of the year, the World Cup 2023 in France, confirms the manager of the U20, Sébastien Calvet, quoted in the press release of the FFR. This demonstrates the transversal strength of the blue project thanks to the spirit of openness and collaboration of Fabien Galthié, Raphaël Ibanez and the staff of the XV. Congratulations to these two players, to their training and current clubs.»
In this group of players, who will have a title to defend since the Blueberries have won the last two editions, in 2018 and 2019, there are some serious hopes such as the scrum-half of Clermont Baptiste Jauneau, the center of Bordeaux-Bègles Nicolas Depoortere, or the already terrifying second-line of Perpignan, Posolo Tuilagi (brother of ...). Some famous sons are also in this list such as the Palois Hugo Auradou, the Briviste Léo Carbonneau and the Clermontois Léon Darricarrère.
The group of 30 Blueberries
Forwards: Affane (Bordeaux-Bègles), Auradou (Pau), Capilla (Bayonne), Castro Ferreira (Toulouse), Duchene (Clermont), Gazzoti (Grenoble), Jegou (La Rochelle), Jouvin (Agen), Julien (Racing 92), Kaddouri (La Rochelle), Lacombre (Toulouse), Liufau (Pau), Massa (Grenoble), Nouchi (Montpellier), Penverne (La Rochelle), Timo (Massy), Tuilagi (Perpignan), Zinzen (Racing 92).
Three-quarters: Attisogbe (Pau), Carbonneau (Brive), Costes (Toulouse), Darricarère (Clermont), Depoortere (Bordeaux-Bègles), Drouet (Provence Rugby), Ferté (Brive), Jauneau (Clermont), Mathiron (Lyon), Mondinat (Pau), Moustin (Bordeaux-Bègles), Reus (La Rochelle).
