Rassie Erasmus was praised for blooding individuals looking ahead to the 2027 Rugby World Cup, using a remarkable 50 players in 2024.
They also enjoyed a stellar year, despite the continual rotation, as they won 11 out of 13 matches and claimed the Rugby Championship title.
Erasmus gave plenty of players an opportunity as they build towards the World Cup in Australia, but he – and the Boks – were eclipsed by France in that respect last year.
22 debutants
Incredibly, according to L’Equipe, Les Bleus head coach Fabien Galthie gave 75 different players a cap in 2024 – 25 more than South Africa – with 22 of those making their debuts.
There is a caveat in that the French always send a severely weakened squad on their mid-year tour and their series with Argentina was no different, where 11 donned the jersey for the first time.
To their credit, they managed to defeat Los Pumas 28-13 despite the mass rotation before the South Americans got their revenge a week later, emerging 33-25 triumphant.
That rather summed up what was a mixed year for the French, who struggled at times in the Six Nations and won just three of their five matches.
They ended the year strongly, though, with a 30-29 victory over the All Blacks the highlight, which suggests that Les Bleus are building nicely towards the global tournament in Australia.
They will go into the upcoming Six Nations full bore before once again rotating in July when they take on New Zealand, a move which has caused controversy.
‘Try and see it from our perspective’ – All Blacks great’s blunt view on France’s tour controversy
Galthie has explained their plan for this four-year cycle, which hints at why there has been a huge amount of rotation in 2024.
France’s long-term vision
“We follow a hundred players,” he said in June. “But above all, we have identified a ‘premium’ group of 20 players.
“We want them to have consistent development. We want to work hand in hand with the league and the clubs.
“Our goal is for players to be able to give the best of themselves in the French team, but also in club. We want to go further while taking into account the challenges of the clubs.”
As for the New Zealand tour controversy, Galthie would not be budged and insisted that sending over weakened squads for the mid-year tours has always been France’s preference.
“We built on trust while adjusting the management of the international season by choosing to rest our ‘premium’ during the summer tours,” he added.
“It was a first step. We want to go even further which will mean that we will go on tour in the summer of 2025 in New Zealand without our ‘premium’ players.
“It’s been like this for four years. Why change strategy? Because we’re travelling to the All Blacks? You have to be consistent.”
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