Saturday’s Nations Championship action concludes with a belter as Fabien Galthié’s France host Jake White’s Fiji at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon.

The top line

For those watching the news from across the Channel, it’s pretty clear that France has once again taken to the barricades.

The students want change, the unions want more change, and whilst Macron, Bardella and Le Pen jostle for meaningless soundbites, it appears that French rugby at last has seized that momentum of change rather better than their leaders. For sure, Fabien Galthié’s casualties at least arrive with medical certificates, but his replacements have identifiable skills, and there’s now at least a fighting chance that somebody in Paris might indeed have a coherent plan.

Les Bleus will see Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack in their first start together at half-back since March 2025, a 20-month hiatus. In the interim, Galthié has deployed both Matthieu Jalibert (out injured with a quadriceps issue) and Maxime Lucu amongst his personnel. Ntamack’s injuries have been numerous, including his long-running kidney problem amongst other things, whereas Dupont missed the whole of July with a calf issue.

France stand at the top of the Northern Hemisphere Nations Championship standings on 12 points. In July there was only one blot on their copybook, as a very much C-string France, shorn of their T14 superstars of Montpellier and Toulouse, lost 34-32 to New Zealand in Christchurch, and then put 42 points on in each of their wins over Australia and Japan.

France’s run from the top of the table sees Fiji played at the wonderful Groupama Stadium in Lyon, then South Africa six days later, on Friday the 13th, at the Stade de France, with Argentina following on the 21st of November. Galthié’s team is very much a mix and match of daring, necessity and experimentation, with some big guns held in reserve, either within the squad or on the bench itself, as the toll of three games in 15 days, with only a six-day turnaround before the South Africa game, is sure to play a part in France’s thinking.

Fiji, meanwhile, have been enjoying something of a coaching merry-go-round. Their head coach, Mick Byrne, left in April, with Senirusi Seruvakula appointed as an interim through July. There was then much speculation within the media, as Pierre Mignoni, the former RC Toulon supremo, Jake White, Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards were all linked to the job, but Jake White emerged victorious, the man that coached South Africa to the 2007 Rugby World Cup title in France, and en route knocked Fiji out of that World Cup at the quarter-final stage in Marseille.

Fiji have had an underwhelming start to the Nations Championship: no points in July, after they lost 39-24 to Wales in Cardiff, then 73-8 to England in Liverpool, and then followed that up with a 33-17 loss to Scotland at Murrayfield. More worryingly, they lost the Pacific Nations Cup final 20-15 to Japan in September, but overturned that result with a famous 34-28 win against Japan in Tokyo, ironically White’s first Test, as he faced his old friend and cohort of that 2007 Rugby World Cup win, Eddie Jones.

Where the game will be won

France’s injury list is as long as the A16 toll road itself. There’s a host of galácticos out injured, including Thomas Ramos, Matthieu Jalibert, Thibaud Flament, Julien Marchand, Emmanuel Meafou, Anthony Jelonch, Fabien Brau-Boirie, Gaël Dréan, Lenni Nouchi, Marko Gazzotti, Pierre-Louis Barassi, Alexandre Roumat, Nolann Le Garrec and Oscar Jegou, all currently missing, and with prop Demba Bamba potentially out of the whole season. You could build a Champions Cup-winning team out of that lot and still have enough loose change for a case of vintage Burgundy.

With Uini Atonio’s retirement in January following a cardiac event, France have desperately been searching for the tighthead to fill the shoes of the massive La Rochellian prop. Jean-Baptiste Gros, Maxime Lamothe and Sipili Falatea form a trio made up of one third RCT and two thirds Bordeaux, with Falatea making his first Test start since July 2021. There’s an opportunity for the visitors here, with Fiji’s Eroni Mawi, Tevita Ikanivere and Luke Tagi all enjoying a lot more time together at Test level, for Fiji to create an edge in that front row, and, knowing that South Africa are only around the corner for Les Bleus, it will be absolutely key that the front row they field sows some serious doubts into French minds.

In the back row, France have gone for an experimental trio of Cameron Woki, a man on fire in terms of his form for Bordeaux-Bègles, Paul Boudehent and François Cros, playing in his France Under-20s position at number 8. With the massive frame of the world-class Charles Ollivon on the bench, France can change things up pretty quickly, and it will be interesting to see how that back-row battle takes place against Pita-Gus Sowakula, Kitione Salawa and Nathan Hughes, with Peceli Yato and Elia Canakaivata making up a very handy Fijian back-row replacement strategy.

A lot of France’s recent success has been based upon the brilliance of their aerial game, but they are without their mercurial talisman, Thomas Ramos, at full-back. Théo Attissogbe comes in at 15, and, knowing how Galthié favours a second-playmaker game, it will be interesting to see how this changes France’s kicking plan, how it changes their backfield orientation, and their ability to exploit that split field formation. On the flip side, Fiji’s midfield combination sees Rabitu at 10 and Habosi at 12, surprisingly, as Habosi is usually a wing, and it will be very, very interesting to see if they have anywhere near the control that they need.

Outside the half-backs, the three-quarter clash is going to be titanic: the two flying wings of France against the sheer physicality of the Fijians, with Jiuta Wainiqolo, Habosi, Iosefo Masi and Selestino Ravutaumada across the three-quarter line and Salesi Rayasi at full-back. France have gas to burn, but Kalvin Gourgues and Yoram Moefana have little history together and face the challenge of one of the biggest back lines in the game.

Jake White has been emphasising how important discipline will be, certainly around the tackle height, and has been using a bandage strung between the entry poles at training to that end, along with the discipline in game management that Fiji need to apply so they don’t default to a period of sevens rugby.

However, in the final analysis, you look at this side and you think that Galthié has played his cards well, especially with the length of campaign ahead: six forwards and two backs on the bench, with Lucu and Émilien Gailleton as the only backline cover, gives him the ability to change up his forward pack at the 50-minute mark and also maintain a degree of freshness for his starters for the massive challenge six days afterwards against South Africa.

What they said

Fabien Galthié played down the reversion of the partnership to Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack during the week, saying that these are two of the best players in the French team, even though they haven’t played all that much together in Test rugby in recent times. Of course, at Toulouse they have shared six Brennus titles and two European titles.

Attack coach Patrick Arlettaz went on to say that the French coaches are pleased with both the form and the competition within the squad, and that they do not set out to pair up their half-backs; they go with the form of the moment, the right combination for the match, and besides that, the injuries have left them few choices beyond those that they’ve fielded.

Jake White, on the other side, has been focusing on discipline. He said this week’s theme is ‘ra’, which in Fijian means under, and that means under everything: tackle under, keep it low. He went on to say that Fiji often default to sevens rugby; that’s not their fault, because that’s what they grew up playing, but they’ve got to learn to apply their skills in a 15-a-side environment. He believes that they’ve lacked a bit of confidence this year and wants to see them enjoying themselves with ball in hand, playing their natural game, but with a little bit more structure and game management.

Players to watch

François Cros, who is back to his brilliant best for Stade Toulousain after sorting out his troublesome knee, will start the game at number 8, his first Test start there for France, but the position in which he captained the French Under-20 side to the 2014 Six Nations Under-20 Grand Slam. Clearly France have got a very disruptive and powerful back row, but again, as with many of their sides of late, they lack a true over-the-ball threat.

It will be interesting to see how the French try-scoring machine Charles Ollivon is deployed off the bench, as he’s able to play across the back five with equal facility. What you can rely upon is him bringing his world-class line running and that try-scoring ability, combined with the best lineout presence in the game, for the last 30 minutes. All eyes too will be on the brilliant Stade Toulousain starlet, Kalvin Gourgues, trusted to unlock a physical defence with his pace at 13.

Meanwhile, for Fiji, it will be interesting to see how Nathan Hughes is responding to life in a different coloured white shirt. The man now at Racing 92 played his last Test in 2019, and his power, his rugby intellect and his ball-playing will be absolutely key for the Flying Fijians, and, to counter the Gourgues love-in, the formidable frame of Iosefo Masi will be looking to dominate physically both in the wide attack and in fold defence.

Main head-to-head

With all of the firepower and talent on view in both sides, the microscope of the French media and of the French rugby-watching public will go no further than the number 3 shirt, to see how Sipili Falatea copes with the experience and power of Eroni Mawi. The hole in French rugby starts at tighthead and becomes even deeper when you realise that the 145 kilos of Emmanuel Meafou are no longer present as a stabilising force behind that front row. If France get the platform, then they will run rampant, but Fiji will see the soft underbelly of that rookie front row as an invitation to scrum, and scrum hard.

Make no mistake, Falatea will have his hands full on Saturday, but this is nothing more than a 20-second casting call for the big show a week ahead when he’ll face that mighty Bok pack. If he fails, France won’t just be back to the drawing board, they’ll have run out of pencils and paper to boot.

Prediction

France’s aerial game, their speed, their pace and their lineout ability mean that they have little to fear other than that front-row battle. Fiji have only ever beaten France once, and in their three July defeats in this tournament, Fiji conceded 145 points. And then there’s the question of ‘ra’, and if they can turn their woeful discipline around. But with Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack running the show at half-back, you can imagine that France will look to run the ball from every angle of the field, using fresh legs and points-scoring ability off the bench to finish their feast off in gourmet style.

It all boils down to maintaining that scrummage platform, and if that goes well, France will learn so much from this game, accelerating at the end, running out winners by 65-19 in a Lyon display of French attacking excellence.

The teams

France: 15 Théo Attissogbe, 14 Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, 13 Kalvin Gourgues, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 François Cros, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Cameron Woki, 5 Mickaël Guillard, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Sipili Falatea, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros3
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Jefferson Poirot, 18 Régis Montagne, 19 Charles Ollivon, 20 Tom Staniforth, 21 Esteban Capilla, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Emilien Gailleton

Fiji: 15 Salesi Rayasi, 14 Selestino Ravutaumada, 13 Iosefo Masi, 12 Vinaya Habosi, 11 Jiuta Wainiqolo, 10 Isikeli Rabitu, 9 Simione Kuruvoli, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Kitione Salawa, 6 Pita-Gus Sowakula, 5 Isoa Nasilasila, 4 Mesake Vocevoce, 3 Luke Tagi, 2 Tevita Ikanivere (c), 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements: 16 Zuriel Togiatama, 17 Peni Ravai, 18 Inoke Ravuiwasa, 19 Peceli Yato, 20 Elia Canakaivata, 21 Frank Lomani, 22 Ben Volavola, 23 Sireli Maqala

Date: Saturday, 7 November 2026
Venue: Groupama Stadium, Lyon
Kick-off: 21:10 (local), 20:10 (UK), 21:10 (France), 22:10 (South Africa), 07:10 (8 November, AEDT), 09:10 (8 November, New Zealand), 17:10 (Argentina), 05:10 (8 November, JST), 15:10 (EST)
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referees: Damián Schneider (UAR) and Katsuki Furuse (JRFU)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
FPRO: Leo Colgan (IRFU)
Broadcasters: TF1 (France), ITV / ITVX (United Kingdom), Virgin Media Television (Republic of Ireland), Sky Italia (Italy), SuperSport (South Africa / Africa), Nine Network / Stan Sport (Australia), Sky Sport (New Zealand), FloSports (USA), Wowow (Japan)

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Recent meetings

2025: France 34-21 Fiji (Bordeaux)
2023: France 34-17 Fiji (Nantes)
2018: France 14-21 Fiji (Stade de France)
2014: France 40-15 Fiji (Marseille)
2010: France 34-12 Fiji (Nantes)