All Blacks great Justin Marshall has unloaded on French rugby for the “disrespectful” decision to send a weakened team to face the All Blacks in July.
France coach Fabien Galthie said he had no choice but to select a second-choice squad for the upcoming international season, which includes the three-Test series against the All Blacks.
Galthie will be without the likes of front-line players such as winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey, fullback Thomas Ramos and No. 8 Gregory Alldritt, who are rested after a gruelling club campaign.
Captain Antoine Dupont is also absent, after suffering a serious knee injury in February.
“To be honest, I’m really disappointed, look the way the side that the French have bought is clearly underpowered, the average age of 25 the average number of caps is 9.3,” Marshall told The Breakdown on Sky Sports.
“This is a side that has a very little amount of experience and then at the end of the day there’s 49 percent of the players have got no caps at all. So it’s a development team with a few senior players involved.
“In my mind, it’s complete BS the way that they’re treating this tour, the way that the French always seem to have come up with excuses to not bring their top players, I feel they disrespect the international window.”
Marshall said he still expected a decent contest but that France’s decision was a let down for rugby supporters.
“I’m not going to say that it’s not going to be a contest out there, but our fans deserve to see their best players playing in our country against our All Blacks because we do that in November to them, we send our very best players for filling their stadiums and giving the fans the best experience they can get by seeing the best players in the world,” Marshall said.
“They are not doing that and if they keep doing this, which is quite regular for them, just don’t invite them. We’ll play someone else, it’s still going to be a good series, and they’ll be competitive, and they’ve got depth.
“But the reality is, they’ve left 70% of their best players in France, and I just don’t feel that that is within the decency and the respect of the game.”
Marshall’s fellow ex-All Black suggested the call might affect the French leading into the World Cup, robbing their top line talent of a tough series Down Under.
“I have to admit, I have full respect for French rugby, I have no issues with the fact these guys are playing in a world-class competition, but this is still not their best side,” Wilson said.
“We know their best players aren’t here, they know their best players aren’t here, they are absolutely going to go out there and compete, and prepare the best they can, but when push comes to shove, experience goes a long, long way, and you’re playing the All Blacks in New Zealand.
“The part I’m disappointed about is that if they genuinely want to win a World Cup, at some point, you want to give yourself the best opportunity to do that, you have to take on the top teams away from home, because in two years time a World Cup is being played in Australia, and that’s familiar territory to us.”
