Grégory Alldritt

A KIND SCHEDULE AND POST-LIONS FATIGUE SWINGS THE BALL INTO FRANCE'S COURT. WILL ALLDRITT AND CO TAKE ADVANTAGE BY RETAINING THEIR TITLE?

- PAUL EDDISON

NOWHERE ARE players asked to do more than in France and it might be that demonic schedule that proves the chief obstacle to them fulfilling their ultimate goal.

Consider the case of Grégory Alldritt. The No 8, who led France for their last two games in the autumn after being omitted from the opening loss to South Africa, began his season on 14 July. That was when his La Rochelle side returned to preseason training.

Should La Rochelle get all the way to the Top 14 final, Alldritt's domestic season would last all the way through to the final weekend of June, 11-and-a-half months. A week after that, France are in New Zealand taking on the All Blacks for the start of their Nations Championship.

A three-week trip across New Zealand, Australia and Japan will add air miles to already weary bodies, with questions over just how France's best players can be expected to perform on the Test stage while also stepping up for their clubs.

Up to now, Fabien Galthié has chosen to leave his so-called 'premium' players out of summer tours. That caused friction in New Zealand last summer when a second-string French team were whitewashed there in a three-Test series. It remains to be seen how it will play out with the arrival of the Nations Championship. The mood music seems to be that the FFR do not want to be without their big guns for this new competition, but something has to give.

Alldritt understands the demands being placed on the players better than most. He has been a near-permanent fixture in the France team since 2019, but between La Rochelle and international commitments, found himself running on empty by the end of the 2023 World Cup.