It was the striking eyewear of a different French leader that caught the attention of Davos this week, but beneath his familiar thick spectacles, Fabien Galthie was not to be outdone. The words, both public and private, of Emmanuel Macron may carry a geopolitical heft beyond that of the announcement of a France Six Nations squad, yet perhaps the most striking statement of the week from a petit general re-organising his troops.
Out from Galthie’s squad go Gregory Alldritt and Gael Fickou, who both captained France last year; excluded, too, is Damian Penaud, a matter of months after knocking off Serge Blanco as his nation’s leading try-scorer. If each has felt the cold edge of the axe before under Galthie, a triple omission of figures of such stature nonetheless heightens the tensions for a head coach plotting his Six Nations title defence.
