Fabien Galthie has named seven uncapped players in his 42-man France squad as Les Bleus start preparations for the 2022 Guinness Six Nations.
Prop Daniel Bibi Biziwu, locks Florian Verhaeghe and Florent Vanverberghe and flanker Yoan Tanga are named among the forwards, while fly-half Leo Berdeu and three-quarters Jules Favre and Tani Vili will also hope to impress when the squad meets on 23 January.
Flanker Charles Ollivon, who captained France in the previous two Championships, has missed out as expected as he continues to recover from a serious knee injury.
Scrum-half Antoine Dupont captained Les Bleus during the Autumn Nations Series and could continue in the role after being included despite missing the last month through injuyry. He is expected to make his return this weekend for Toulouse.
He is joined by a number familiar names, including the likes of Romain Ntamack, Teddy Thomas and Gael Fickou, but Matthieu Jalibert misses out after suffering a thigh injury at the weekend. He is expected to be fit for the start of the Championship, however.
Thomas is one of a number of players returning after missing the Autumn Nations, along with Virimi Vakatawa in the centres.
Another is Bernard Le Roux, who is just three caps away from his 50th France appearance and the second row is one of just four players, along with prop Uini Atonio, second row Romain Taofifenua and full-back Brice Dulin, over 30.
France open the 2022 Championship with home matches against Italy and Ireland, before away matches at Scotland and Wales. They then host England at the Stade de France in Round 5.
FRANCE SQUAD
FORWARDS
Gregory Alldritt
Uini Atonio
Cyril Baille
Demba Bamba
Gaetan Barlot
Daniel Bibi Biziwu
Dylan Cretin
Francois Cros
Ibrahim Diallo
Thibaud Flament
Jean-Baptiste Gros
Mohamed Haouas
Anthony Jelonch
Bernard Le Roux
Sekou Macalou
Julien Marchand
Peato Mauvaka
Yoan Tanga
Romain Taofifenua
Florent Vanverberghe
Florian Verhaeghe
Paul Willemse
Cameron Woki
BACKS
Leo Berdeu
Baptiste Couilloud
Jonathan Danty
Brice Dulin
Antoine Dupont
Jules Favre
Antoine Hastoy
Melvyn Jaminet
Matthis Lebel
Maxime Lucu
Yoram Moefana
Romain Ntamack
Damian Penaud
Thomas Ramos
Teddy Thomas
Virimi Vakatawa
Tani Vili
Gabin Villiere
