The France fly-half Romain Ntamack has been suspended for the match against England on Saturday, forcing Les Bleus into a reshuffle, but he will be available for their fixture against Ireland later in the tournament.
Ntamack was sent off in the emphatic victory against Wales last Friday and has been handed a three-week suspension. In his absence, Bordeaux’s mercurial fly-half Matthieu Jalibert is the favourite to come into the No 10 jersey at Twickenham.
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Jalibert was not part of the squad that beat Wales 43-0 but he has been training alongside Antoine Dupont this week and is considered the most likely to get the nod when Fabien Galthié names his side on Thursday.
Ntamack was shown a red card in the 72nd minute of France’s opening victory for a high tackle on Ben Thomas. At a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday the 25-year-old admitted an act of foul play and, though the entry point for such an offence is six weeks or matches, he was given the full 50% mitigation for factors including his clean disciplinary record. It will be reduced to two weeks or matches provided he completes World Rugby’s coaching intervention programme known colloquially as “tackle school”.
His absence is a blow for France but Galthié will have been planning without Ntamack this week. Jalibert last started for France in the Six Nations last year and was their No 10 during the 2023 World Cup while Ntamack was nursing a long-term injury.
The disciplinary panel is yet to confirm the second match that Ntamack will miss but, given Toulouse have a fixture on 16 February, it may be the case that he is considered available for France’s third-round match against Italy seven days later. Either way, he will be available for their penultimate match against Ireland.
During France’s autumn campaign Galthié preferred to use Thomas Ramos, a full-back by trade, at fly-half and before their one-point victory against New Zealand it emerged that Jalibert had left the camp. Jalibert had requested to be allowed to leave rather than be among the non-playing reserves, leading to suggestions of friction between him and Galthié.
On Saturday, however, he appears in line for a reprieve to square off against Fin Smith, with Steve Borthwick also set to change his fly-half. The Northampton No 10 is set for his first England start with Marcus Smith shifting to full-back as Borthwick seeks to end his side’s dismal run of seven defeats in their past nine Tests.
