The France national under-20 rugby union team (French: Équipe de France de rugby à XV des moins de 20 ans), also known as France under-20s or France U20(s), is the national under-20 rugby union team of France, under the control of the French Rugby Federation. Competing in the annual Six Nations Under 20s Championship, it is considered to be the feeder team for the France national team.
 | |
| Union | French Rugby Federation |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Les Bleuets (The Little Blues) |
| Coach(es) | Sébastien Calvet |
| Captain(s) | Hugo Reus |
| Most caps | Kilian Geraci (18) Jordan Joseph (18) |
| Top scorer | Louis Carbonel (169) |
| Most tries | Jordan Joseph (12) |
| First international | |
 France 12–6 Scotland  (1 February 2008) | |
| Largest win | |
France 75–12 Japan  (24 June 2023) | |
| Largest defeat | |
 New Zealand 45–7 France (15 June 2015) | |
| World Cup | |
| Appearances | 13 (first in 2008) |
| Best result |  Champions (3): 2018, 2019 and 2023 |
Replacing the two former age grade teams Under 19s and Under 21s, their first tournament was the 2008 Six Nations U20 Championship, where they finished at the third place. Winning the competition in 2009, 2014 – year in which they win the Grand Slam – and 2018,[1] they also have participated in the inaugural IRB Junior World Championship (later renamed the World Rugby U20 Championship) and all subsequent editions, winning it on three occasions, three times in a row, in 2018, 2019 and 2023.[2]
Nicknamed "Les Bleuets" (French for "The Little Blues"; diminutive from "bleu": blue), they are used to play in medium-sized stadiums all around France. Sébastien Calvet is the current head coach of the team, after having been appointed in 2022.
Coaching history
editCurrent staff
editThe following members were part of the France U20 coaching staff for the 2022–23 season. Sébastien Calvet replaced Jean-Marc Béderède as head coach in July 2022.[3]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Sébastien Calvet
|
| Backs and attack coach | Benoît Baby
|
| Defence coach | Philippe Boher
|
| Forwards and set piece coach | Rémi Vaquin (incumbent) Samuel Cherouk (back-up)
|
Previous head coaches
edit
Players
editCurrent squad
editOn 23 June 2024, Calvet named a 30-player squad for the 2024 World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa.[4]
1 On 5 July, Zinédine Aouad withdrew from the squad due to injury and was replaced by Charly Gambini.[5]
Head coach: Sébastien Calvet
- Caps updated: 15 March 2024
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Lacombre | Hooker | 14 July 2004 | 9 | Toulouse
|
| Mathys Lotrian | Hooker | 18 February 2004 | 1 | Perpignan
|
| Barnabé Massa | Hooker | 13 May 2004 | 6 | Grenoble
|
| Zinédine Aouad1 | Prop | 3 May 2005 | 5 | Bordeaux Bègles
|
| Lorencio Boyer Gallardo | Prop | 23 September 2005 | 0 | Perpignan
|
| Thomas Duchêne | Prop | 25 August 2004 | 9 | Clermont
|
| Samuel Jean-Christophe | Prop | 9 March 2006 | 0 | Toulon
|
| Lino Julien | Prop | 27 July 2004 | 9 | Racing 92
|
| Thomas Marceline | Prop | 18 June 2005 | 0 | Lyon
|
| Antonin Corso | Lock | 9 April 2004 | 3 | Oyonnax
|
| Charles Kanté-Samba | Lock | 8 February 2005 | 0 | La Rochelle
|
| Brent Liufau | Lock | 21 March 2004 | 12 | Pau
|
| Corentin Mézou | Lock | 20 April 2005 | 4 | Toulon
|
| Mathis Castro-Ferreira | Back row | 13 January 2004 | 9 | Toulouse
|
| Alexis Caumel | Back row | 20 July 2004 | 0 | Colomiers
|
| Charly Gambini1 | Back row | 15 January 2004 | 4 | Provence Rugby
|
| Geoffrey Malaterre | Back row | 9 August 2005 | 2 | Brive
|
| Joé Quere-Karaba | Back row | 28 September 2004 | 4 | Toulon Bègles
|
| Sialevailea Tolofua | Back row | 9 July 2005 | 4 | Toulouse
|
| Léo Carbonneau | Scrum-half | 7 October 2004 | 11 | Brive
|
| Thomas Souverbie | Scrum-half | 28 June 2004 | 4 | Pau
|
| Axel Desperes | Fly-half | 16 January 2004 | 5 | Pau
|
| Hugo Reus (c) | Fly-half | 26 July 2004 | 9 | La Rochelle
|
| Mathys Belaubre | Centre | 15 March 2005 | 1 | Clermont
|
| Maxence Biasotto | Centre | 8 July 2004 | 6 | Brive
|
| Fabien Brau-Boirie | Centre | 19 December 2005 | 4 | Pau
|
| Robin Taccola | Centre | 4 May 2005 | 4 | Vannes
|
| Nathan Bollengier | Wing | 18 January 2004 | 1 | La Rochelle
|
| Hoani Bosmorin | Wing | 27 December 2004 | 2 | La Rochelle
|
| Mathis Ferté | Fullback | 2 February 2004 | 10 | Brive
|
| Xan Mousques | Fullback | 18 November 2005 | 3 | Bayonne
|
Previous squads
edit|
The following 30 players were called up for the 2023 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in South Africa.[6]
|
|
The following 28 players were called up for the 2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Argentina.[7]
|
|
The following 30 players were called up for the 2018 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in France.[8]
|
Award winners
editThe following France U20s players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2008:[9]
| Year | Nominees | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Jordan Joseph | Jordan Joseph |
| Romain Ntamack | ||
| 2019 | Louis Carbonel | — |
Competitive record
editWorld Rugby Under 20 Championship
edit| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 2008 |
5th-8th place | 6th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 155 | 102 |
| 2009 |
5th-8th place | 5th | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 202 | 100 |
 2010 |
5th-8th place | 5th | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 146 | 94 |
 2011 |
Semi-final | 4th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 117 | 114 |
 2012 |
5th-8th place | 6th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 102 | 89 |
| 2013 |
5th-8th place | 5th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 116 | 101 |
| 2014 |
5th-8th place | 6th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 105 | 83 |
| 2015 |
Semi-final | 4th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 121 | 111 |
 2016 |
9th-12th place | 9th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 160 | 129 |
 2017 |
Semi-final | 4th | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 144 | 124 |
| 2018 |
Champions | 1st | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 145 | 97 |
| 2019 |
Champions | 1st | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 138 | 110 |
| 2020–2022 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||
| 2023 |
Champions | 1st | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 255 | 90 |
| 2024 |
||||||||
| Total | 13/13 | 3 Titles | 65 | 45 | 1 | 19 | 1906 | 1344 |
Honours
editReferences
edit- ^ "Les Bleuets remportent le Tournoi" [The Bleuets won the Championship]. Rugbyrama (in French). 18 March 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ Burgaud, Florian (14 July 2023). "XV de France U20 - Les Bleuets sur le toit du monde, la France sacrée pour la troisième fois de suite" [France U20 - The Bleuets on top of the world, France crowned three times in a row]. Rugbyrama (in French). Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ "Jean-Marc Béderède : " Amener le maximum de joueurs vers le XV de France "" [Jean-Marc Béderède: "Drive as many players as possible to the XV de France] (in French). FFR. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ Baty, Pierre (23 June 2024). "France moins 20 ans : Le groupe pour le Championnat du monde" [France U20: The squad for the World Championship] (in French). FFR. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ "Charly Gambini remplace Zinédine Aouad chez les Bleuets". L'Équipe (in French). 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ "Le groupe de France moins 20 ans pour le Championnat du monde" [France U20 squad for the World Cup] (in French). FFR. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ "France moins 20 ans : Le groupe pour le Championnat du monde" [France U20: The squad for the World Cup] (in French). FFR. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ "Champion du monde -20 : Une question de confiance !" [U20 World Champion: a matter of trust!] (in French). FFR. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.