Romain Ntamack will partner Toulouse teammate Antoine Dupont at halfback for France in their opening Nations Championship Test on home soil against Fiji, it was announced Thursday.
Coach Fabien Galthie unveiled France's most trusted halfback pairing for the first time since March 2025, the duo having each suffered injuries since then.
It will be the 30th time that Dupont and Ntamack, aligned regularly at club level with Toulouse, match up as scrum-half and fly-half.
After opening their campaign against Fiji on Saturday, France go on to host South Africa six days later and conclude against Argentina on November 21, with both matches at the Stade de France.
France head up the northern hemisphere standings going into the business end of the Nations Championship, with Scotland, England and Ireland snapping at their heels.
France's sole loss in the opening away fixtures in July was a two-point defeat by New Zealand. Galthie's side followed that up by twice scoring 42 points in wins over Australia and Japan.
Dupont's Toulouse teammate Francois Cros, normally a blindside flanker, was named as No 8, with Florian Verhaeghe and Mickael Guillard packing down in the second row.
Kalvin Gourgues gets a first start, while tighthead prop Sipili Falatea and flanker Cameron Woki get first call-ups since 2021 and 2023 respectively.
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