Fly-half Matthieu Jalibert turned down the opportunity to be picked as a reserve for the All Blacks encounter, Fabien Galthie has confirmed.
The head coach selected his 23-man Les Bleus squad to face New Zealand on Thursday, but the playmaker’s name was missing from the teamsheet.
Thomas Ramos was selected to start at number 10 after impressing in that role in the 52-12 victory over Japan last weekend.
Jalibert came on in the second half of that match and was evidently expecting – in his own mind – to be in the squad for the match with the All Blacks.
Partnering Antoine Dupont
However, Galthie kept faith with Ramos and once again put him alongside Antoine Dupont at half-back, but the France boss was intending to select the Bordeaux-Begles star among the reserves – those outside the 23 who are kept behind in case of an injury.
The 26-year-old refused, though, and has now returned to his club after the head coach accepted his request to leave the group.
Galthie appeared relaxed about the situation and insisted that it would not prohibit Jalibert from being selected in the future, instead putting the onus on the fly-half to make the decision in regards to his commitment to the country.
“He will continue in the French team… if he wishes,” he told reporters.
Jalibert made his Test debut in 2018 and has generally vied with Romain Ntamack for the fly-half shirt over the years, but Ramos has recently come into contention.
With Ntamack currently injured, Galthie has opted for the 28-year-old Toulouse playmaker, who took the reins at 10 towards the end of the 2024 Six Nations, starting against Wales and England.
Ramos has generally featured at full-back for both club and country, but he has plenty of experience of being at pivot, filling in when required for Les Rouge et Noir and Les Bleus.
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