XV de France: Who will replace Jelonch?

Regardless of whether one of Anthony Jelonch's right knee cruciate ligaments is torn or not, as it strongly appears to be the case, the injured Toulouse flanker is already certain to miss the upcoming Six Nations tournament. The question now is who Fabien Galthié will choose to replace him, especially in the starting XV.

We will have to wait for the rest of the day and the further examinations that the unfortunate player will undergo in the coming hours to confirm whether or not one of Anthony Jelonch's cruciate ligaments in his right knee (27 years old) has indeed been affected and, most importantly, ruptured, as it seems to be the case. Nonetheless, the Toulouse flanker injured on Sunday during his team's Champions Cup victory over Bath (31-19) already knows that he will not be able to participate in the upcoming Six Nations tournament, set to begin on Friday, February 2, with the clash between defending champions Ireland and the French national team at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille. This presents quite a headache for Fabien Galthié, who has likely been pondering since Sunday over the replacement for Jelonch, who will be sidelined from the field once again for an extended period (he suffered a serious knee injury in February last year, which required surgery for a ruptured cruciate ligament), and whom Toulouse supporters will probably not see in action until the beginning of next season.

Cros or Boudehent to replace him in the starting XV?

Four players naturally come to mind as replacements in Galthié's squad of 34 for the tournament for someone who had to embark on a race against time last year to be able to participate in the World Cup. These players are Joan Tanga and Judicaël Cancoriet, both from La Rochelle, Sekou Macalou (Stade Français), and Alexandre Roumat, who happens to be Jelonch's teammate at Toulouse. The French coach will mainly have to compensate for the absence of the native of Vic-Fezensac, who has been plagued by misfortune. He could have been a contender for a starting spot in the back row alongside Charles Ollivon, the former captain of Les Bleus, and the newcomer, Grégory Alldritt. Without surprise, Paul Boudehent (La Rochelle) or François Cros, another teammate of Jelonch's while wearing the colors of the French champions, should benefit from the unfortunate circumstances of the player who returned to the French national team in the second match of the World Cup against Uruguay. Impressive against Bath, Cros seems to have a slight advantage over Boudehent.