A full-strength France team could still board the plane to New Zealand in July, F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Fran\u00e7aise de Rugby (FFR) president Florian Grill has confirmed.<\/b><\/p>\n
In recent years, head coach Fabien Galthie has taken an understrength Les Blues squad to Australia, Japan and Argentina for the July internationals, and it is feared that the same would occur in 2025.<\/p>\n
France<\/a> face the All Blacks in three Tests in New Zealand; however, the series has been marred by the notion that Les Bleus would likely send a \u2018B-team\u2019 to Aotearoa because of the agreement between the FFR and Ligue National de Rugby (LNR).<\/p>\n The agreement states that players involved in the Top 14 final on June 28 are automatically ruled out of the tour in July, along with the \u2018premium players<\/a>\u2018.<\/p>\n France\u2019s selection policy<\/p>\n While this policy is not new, the fact that France are embarking on a rare tour to New Zealand has sparked outrage with even the top players willing to forgo their extended breaks.<\/p>\n Toulouse star Romain Ntamack is the most high-profile player to put his name forward<\/a> for selection on the tour and others have since followed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my dream to play there so if I\u2019m lucky enough to go, even if the club are in the final, it will obviously be a pleasure,\u201d Ntamack said back in March.<\/p>\n While Galthie has raised doubts over the possibility of taking a full-strength team down to New Zealand, Grill says that it is still a possibility.<\/p>\n \u201cFacing the All Blacks<\/a> in New Zealand is a tremendous honour and a great source of motivation for every player,\u201d he told The Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are therefore approaching this tour with ambition, seriousness, and respect, with the aim of fielding the best team possible under conditions that ensure our team\u2019s performance and within the framework of the unique characteristics of our French model.\u201d<\/p>\n France concerned about being \u2018on the sidelines of world rugby\u2019 as they review controversial policy that angered New Zealand Rugby<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n