French resistance: Players push back over coach's plan to send second-string squad to New Zealand

Sport Nation • May 15th, 2025 2:30 pm

Photo: Photosport

There may be a revolt brewing in France regarding the upcoming tour to New Zealand.

While 'Les Bleus' are scheduled to play three tests in Aotearoa as part of the annual July international window, public enthusiasm has been tempered by coach Fabien Galthie's admission that he doesn't plan to bring his strongest squad south.

Galthie says it's part of a policy to manage player load and prioritize the Top 14 club season, particularly with the Top 14 final taking place shortly before the first All Blacks test.

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But according to veteran rugby broadcaster Tony Johnson, the coach has run into some opposition from his own players, who have been vocal about their desire to take up the challenge to replicate the feats of their 1994 team, who won both matches on their series on NZ soil.

"He's run into some real opposition over that from his own players," Johnson told Sport Nation's Afternoons.

"They want to come on this tour. They still see a series in New Zealand against the All Blacks as one of the ultimate challenges in rugby - perhaps the ultimate challenge outside of the World Cup."

Only six teams in the sport's history have managed to win a test series in New Zealand.

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The most recent was Ireland in 2022, who were the first to achieve the feat since that French side of '94, who clinched victory with the "try from the end of the world" by Jean-Luc Sadourny at Eden Park.

"All these predictions of a B team coming here might not come to fruition," Johnson continued.

France have got the better of the All Blacks in their last three encounters, the men in black without a win over their northern rivals since 2018.

The first match of the series will take place in Dunedin on July 5.

Listen to the full interview below: