YACOUBA CAMARA

THERE WAS a reason why Massy was selected as the incongruous setting to announce the France squad for the 2019 Six Nations. At first glance it’s a nondescript suburb of Paris, lying ten miles south of the capital, and under the flightpath of the neighbouring Orly airport.

However, as Serge Simon, the vice-president of the French federation (FFR), explained to the assembled media prior to coach Jacques Brunel disclosing the lists of names, Massy was chosen because “we want to focus on a club that has so generously fed the French team”.

In recent years the club that flits between Fédérale One and ProD2 has been the alma mater of a clutch of French internationals, among whom are Yacouba Camara, Grégory Lamboley, Mathieu Bastareaud, Sekou Macalou and Judicaël Cancoriet. Add in the dozens who have gone on to play in the Top 14 and one understands why French rugby is grateful to Massy. The players are certainly aware of the debt