Fabien Galthie is reportedly set to take a leaf out of Rassie Erasmus’ playbook and deploy a 7-1 bench split for France’s Six Nations Test against Italy on Sunday.

According to French news outlet L’Equipe, head coach Galthie will select seven forwards among the Les Bleus replacements for the Stadio Olimpico clash, with Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille, George-Henri Colombe and Hugo Auradou likely to feature off the wood.

Anthony Jelonch and Romain Taofifenua will also return to bolster the substitutes, with Mickael Guillard replacing the ill Emmanuel Meafou in the starting line-up. Maxime Lucu is the only backline cover, given his ability to play at scrumhalf and flyhalf. 

MORE: MacDonald making a move for Wallabies job?

In other team news, veteran centre Gael Fickou is fit but won’t feature, with Yoram Moefana and Pierre-Louis Barassi expected to start in midfield. 

Thomas Ramos is likely to shift to flyhalf in place of the dropped Matthieu Jalibert, while Leo Barre comes in at fullback. Winger Damian Penaud, despite scoring against England, is also set to be axed in favour of Theo Attissogbe.

It is understood that Galthie’s selections are not just a reaction to the England defeat in round 2 of the championship but also a response to last year’s narrow draw with Italy.

The world champion Springboks, under Erasmus, have often leveraged their unique strategy of packing the bench with forwards for a six-two split. In the 2023 World Cup final, South Africa selected seven forwards among their replacements – nicknamed the ‘Nuclear Squad’ – allowing them to almost replace their entire pack.

Photo: Xavier Laine/Getty Images