Paul Willemse’s participation in the Rugby World Cup, which begins on Friday September 8, is very seriously compromised. The second line of the Blues has been replaced by Bastien Chalureau in the group of 33 players selected to compete in the competition, announced the management of the XV of France, Friday 1er september.
According to RMC radio and the newspaper The Team, Paul Willemse injured his thigh while training on the facilities of his Montpellier club, while he was following one of the sessions planned by the tricolor staff, this week, for the players at their home. The person concerned had already been forced to throw in the towel for several international meetings, during the autumn tour and then during the last match of the Six Nations Tournament, hit in the thigh.
It’s a new tile for the French, one week to the day from the opening match of the World Cup (September 8 to October 28) against New Zealand, at the Stade de France (Seine-Saint -Denis). This new injury, in a position where the reservoir of able and efficient players is reduced, adds to the package of Romain Ntamack, the unavailability of Cyril Baille for several more weeks and doubts concerning Jonathan Danty.
Integrated into the list of reservists
The presence of the powerful center of the France team and La Rochelle for the inaugural meeting against the All Blacks is indeed very uncertain. Thursday, the XV of France announced that he was suffering from a “minor injury to his hamstrings” and that his training program was going to be “adapted to its situation and its evolution”.
Between Jonathan Danty and Paul Willemse, these are two major players of the Blues who could miss all or part of the competition. Even if he had a complicated last season, the Montpellier player was to be one of the assets of the French team in the position of number 5, where his experience, his size and his power have often taken their toll. The South African-born player has been included in the list of reservists, supposed to be ready in the event of injury, and from which his replacement, Bastien Chalureau, comes.
The group of 33 players selected for the World Cup is to meet on Saturday in Rueil-Malmaison (Hauts-de-Seine), its base camp for the World Cup. The coach, Fabien Galthié, will announce on Wednesday the composition of the team which will have to face the All Blacks in the opening match.