French halfback selection issues go back far beyond the tenure of Jacques Brunel. Even the latest of Dupont and Ntamack would appear to be a short-term fix, with Mathieu Jalibert back playing after more than a year out.
This, then is my piece for Rugby Pass on the remarkable decline and fall of Morgan Parra and Camille Lopez – clear and obvious first-choices at the start of the 2019 Six Nations, but released to play for club side Clermont after two games…
At the start of the 2019 Six Nations, there was no doubt who would be France coach Jacques Brunel’s first-choice halfbacks.
James Harrington: Freelance sports journalist 