The 42 France players who will prepare for the November tour are now known. Among them are 10 uncapped players, senior figures, young men and a few surprises. Note that Thomas Ramos, for family reasons, will join up with the France squad a little later.

Among the forwards first of all, form is king. At hooker, Toulouse’s Guillaume Cramont is called up for the first time after shining in the early weeks of the season. Another surprise in that position is the selection of Clermont’s Barnabé Massa, who therefore moves ahead of Maxime Lamothe (UBB). Julien Marchand completes the trio.

Among the props, young Benjamin Bertrand (22) is also called up. The Toulouse man has played very little since the start of the season (3 team sheets, 1 start) but has been tracked for a while by the France staff. Aldegheri (Toulouse), Erdocio (Montpellier), Gros (Toulon), Laclayat (Pau), Montagne (Clermont) and Setiano (Bayonne) will all be there.

Capilla a logical call-up, Nouchi rewarded

At lock, Hugo Auradou (Pau) is joined by his club team-mate Jimi Maximin, another surprise on the list. The powerful Pau man has an imposing frame and is rewarded for his progress in the space of only a few seasons (2.05m, 136kg). The regulars Taofifenua (Racing 92), Meafou and Flament (Toulouse) as well as Guillard (Lyon) will look after the French youngsters. Cameron Woki (UBB), able to play at lock or in the back row, is duly there.

The back row, precisely. After a thunderous start to the season, Lenni Nouchi (Montpellier) has been called up, as has the Bayonne sensation Esteban Capilla. Otherwise, there are few or no surprises, with Jelonch (Toulouse); Alldritt, Boudehent, Jegou (La Rochelle) and Alexandre Fischer (Bayonne) all present. As a reminder, François Cros is injured.

Among the backs, Fabien Galthié and his staff still cannot count on Antoine Dupont. To stand in for him, Maxime Lucu (UBB), Nolann Le Garrec (La Rochelle) and Baptiste Jauneau (Clermont) are on the list. At fly-half, the inevitable Ntamack and Jalibert start with a head start, just ahead of Joris Segonds (Bayonne), rewarded for his performances.

Grandidier, a first

In the centre, plenty of freshness. The newcomers Fabien Brau-Boirie (Pau) and Kalvin Gourgues (Toulouse) are called up for the first time. Alongside them are Gailleton (Pau), Barassi (Toulouse), Fickou (Racing 92) and Depoortère (UBB). On the wings, there is pace with the Olympic sevens champion Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang (Pau) and the flying Gaël Dréan (Toulon). Not forgetting the Bordeaux pair Bielle-Biarrey and Penaud.

At full-back, Cheikh Tiberghien (Bayonne) and Léo Barré (Stade Français) will battle it out while they wait for Thomas Ramos to return. Note that 10 Toulouse players are on the list, as well as six from Section Paloise. A rare fact worth underlining. France will face South Africa on Saturday 8 November (21:10), Fiji on Saturday 15 November (21:10) and Australia on Saturday 22 November (21:10).

The France squad of 42 players

Forwards: Benjamin Bertrand, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Baptiste Erdocio; Guillaume Cramont, Julien Marchand, Barnabé Massa; Dorian Aldegheri, Thomas Laclayat, Régis Montagne, Emerick Setiano; Hugo Auradou, Thibaud Flament, Mickaël Guillard, Jimi Maximin, Emmanuel Meafou, Romain Taofifenua; Grégory Alldritt, Paul Boudehent, Esteban Capilla, Alexandre Fischer, Anthony Jelonch, Oscar Jegou, Lenni Nouchi, Cameron Woki.

Backs: Baptiste Jauneau, Nolann Le Garrec, Maxime Lucu; Matthieu Jalibert, Romain Ntamack, Joris Segonds; Pierre-Louis Barassi, Fabien Brau-Boirie, Nicolas Depoortere, Gaël Fickou, Emilien Gailleton, Kalvin Gourgues; Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Gaël Dréan, Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, Damian Penaud, Léo Barré, Cheikh Tiberghien.