Road Map

IN THE summer of 2018, France and England met in the final of the U20 World Championship. It was, as they say, a wonderful advertisement for the sport, with the French edging their old foes 33-25 for their first title of that age group.

Four years later those players are entering their prime years as professional athletes, their minds and their bodies fully matured. Romain Ntamack and Cameron Woki (right) were certainly impressive in this year’s Six Nations, crucial members of the France team that won their first title in 12 years, while Demba Bamba and Jean-Baptiste Gros were also important components of the Grand Slam squad. Of the 23 young Frenchmen involved in the U20 triumph in 2018, nine have been capped and a tenth, No 8 Jordan Joseph, was part