Alldritt returns as France call up seven newcomers for Nations Championship

Flanker Gregory Alldritt returns to the France squad after a year away as coach Fabien Galthie also named seven newcomers on Wednesday to prepare for next month's Nations Championship matches. 

Alldritt captained Les Bleus against Australia in November 2025 in the absence of Antoine Dupont but has not featured since.

The La Rochelle No.8 fell out of favour with Galthie and was then sidelined for the first part of the Nations Championship in July due to a calf injury.

The 29-year-old, who has 58 caps, is now in contention for the second part of the 12-team competition which includes a showdown against two-time defending world champions South Africa on November 13 in Paris.

Also making it onto Galthie's 42-player squad are prop Reda Wardi, lock Tyler Duguid and fly-half Axel Desperes.

La Rochelle prop Karl Sorin, Perpignan's Theo Forner, Bayonne's Esteban Capilla and Toulon's Mathis Ferte are also among the uncapped players called up to fill the gaps in an injury-hit squad.

Stade Francais centre Tani Vili and his South African-born teammate Jeremy Ward, who will not be eligible to play for France until next year, just before the World Cup in Australia, have also been called up.

Toulouse players Julien Marchand, Thibaud Flament, Emmanuel Meafou and Thomas Ramos, as well as Bordeaux-Begles' Matthieu Jalibert are out injured so far this season.

After kicking off against Fiji on November 7 in Lyon, France play South Africa on November 13 and Argentina on November 21.