Fritz to replace injured Jauzion

[Teh Mite]

Centre Florian Fritz was called up to the France squad to tour Argentina and South Africa on Tuesday as a replacement for the injured Yannick Jauzion.

31-year-old Jauzion, capped 68 times and a pivotal member of the France side that claimed the Six Nations Grand Slam this season, is suffering from several little ****les, the most serious of which is an elbow injury.

Fritz, 26 and who won the last of his 17 caps on the 2009 tour of New Zealand and Australia, is set to play for the Barbarians against England on Sunday at Twickenham.

Toulouse president Rene Bouscatel told AFP he was perplexed he had not been contacted by the people responsible for selecting the Barbarians side telling him several of his players (Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, Cedric Heymans and Fritz) had been chosen.

"It is totally disfunctional," said Bouscatel, whose side won the European Cup for a fourth time last Saturday when they beat French rivals Biarritz 21-19.

"Nobody ever got in touch with the club, which can cause problems in terms of responsibility and insurance in case of injuries.

"I do not even know who is in charge of selecting this team."

France plays world champions South Africa in Cape Town on June 12, a provincial Argentinian XV in La Plata on June 18 and the Pumas in Buenos Aires on June 26.

France squad:

Forwards:

Fabien Barcella (Biarritz), Thomas Domingo (Clermont), Dimitri Szarzewski (Stade Francais), Guilhem Guirado (Perpignan), Nicolas Mas (Perpignan), Luc Ducalcon (Castres), Jean-Baptiste Poux (Toulouse), Romain Millo-Chluski (Toulouse), Lionel Nallet (Racing-Metro), Pascal Pape (Stade Francais), Julien Pierre (Clermont), Imanol Harinordoquy (Biarritz), Louis Picamoles (Toulouse), Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse, capt), Julien Bonnaire (Clermont), Wenceslas Lauret (Biarritz)

Backs:

Dimitri Yachvili (Biarritz), Morgan Parra (Clermont), Francois Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), David Skrela (Toulouse), Maxime Mermoz (Perpignan), Florian Fritz (Toulouse), David Marty (Perpignan), Mathieu Bastareaud (Stade Francais), Vincent Clerc (Toulouse), Marc Andreu (Castres), Clement Poitrenaud (Toulouse), Jerome Porical (Perpignan), Aurelien Rougerie (Clermont), Julien Malzieu (Clermont)



http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_6172888,00.html

 

[Jockstap]

Massive blow, he's probably the best 12 in the world at the moment, not a bad replacement though.

 

[DonBilly]

Massive blow, he's probably the best 12 in the world at the moment, not a bad replacement though.

I don't think Jauzion injury is serious. Overall he needs to rest, he's one of the players who played the most for Toulouse this season. He's 30 something, so to get him in good shape next year for the RWC it is important to give him a good break this season. After that it's going to be an almost uninterrupted Rugby season from mid-August (training will start a month before) to October next year.

 

[Charles]

True DonBilly. Mermoz is gonna play 12 probably, chance for him to shine and get his spot int he squad for the WC. I don't think Fritz is gonna play 12. 3 outside centers though?

 

[DonBilly]

True DonBilly. Mermoz is gonna play 12 probably, chance for him to shine and get his spot int he squad for the WC. I don't think Fritz is gonna play 12. 3 outside centers though?

Although he mainly plays 13 he can play 12. Bastareaud can also play 12 even if his preference goes to 13. Eventually Skrela is quite good at 12. With Mermoz, Skrela and Jauzion we could evn thing returning to the former custom where there were a left and a right centers who depending on the situation can play either inside or outside.