France national under-20 rugby union team
The France national under-20 rugby union team (French: Équipe de France de rugby à XV des moins de 20 ans), also known as France under-20s or France U20(s), is the national under-20 rugby union team of France, under the control of the French Rugby Federation. Competing in the annual Six Nations Under 20s Championship, it is considered to be the feeder team for the France national team.
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| Union | French Rugby Federation |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Les Bleuets (The Little Blues) |
| Coach(es) | Sébastien Calvet |
| Captain(s) | Lenni Nouchi |
| Most caps | Kilian Geraci (18) Jordan Joseph (18) |
| Top scorer | Louis Carbonel (169) |
| Most tries | Jordan Joseph (12) |
| First international | |
 France 12–6 Scotland  (1 February 2008) | |
| Largest win | |
France 75–12 Japan  (24 June 2023) | |
| Largest defeat | |
 New Zealand 45–7 France (15 June 2015) | |
| World Cup | |
| Appearances | 13 (first in 2008) |
| Best result |  Champions (3): 2018, 2019 and 2023 |
Replacing the two former age grade teams Under 19s and Under 21s, their first tournament was the 2008 Six Nations U20 Championship, where they finished at the third place. Winning the competition in 2009, 2014 – year in which they win the Grand Slam – and 2018,[1] they also have participated in the inaugural IRB Junior World Championship (later renamed the World Rugby U20 Championship) and all subsequent editions, winning it on three occasions, three times in a row, in 2018, 2019 and 2023.[2]
Nicknamed "Les Bleuets" (French for "The Little Blues"; diminutive from "bleu": blue), they are used to play in medium-sized stadiums all around France. Sébastien Calvet is the current head coach of the team, after having been appointed in 2022.
Coaching history
Current staff
The following members were part of the France U20 coaching staff for the 2022–23 season. Sébastien Calvet replaced Jean-Marc Béderède as head coach in July 2022.[3]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Sébastien Calvet |
| Backs and attack coach | Benoît Baby |
| Defence coach | Philippe Boher |
| Forwards and set piece coach | Rémi Vaquin (incumbent) Samuel Cherouk (back-up) |
Previous head coaches
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Players
Current squad
On 1 June 2023, Calvet named a 30-player squad for the 2023 World Rugby U20 Championship.[4]
1 On 9 June, Léon Darricarrère withdrew from the squad due to injury and was replaced by Maxence Biasotto.[4]
Head coach: Sébastien Calvet
- Caps updated: 14 July 2023
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pierre Jouvin | Hooker | 3 December 2003 | 6 | Agen |
| Thomas Lacombre | Hooker | 14 July 2004 | 9 | Toulouse |
| Barnabé Massa | Hooker | 13 May 2004 | 4 | Grenoble |
| Zaccharie Affane | Prop | 15 July 2004 | 9 | Bordeaux Bègles |
| Thomas Duchêne | Prop | 25 August 2004 | 5 | Clermont |
| Lino Julien | Prop | 27 July 2004 | 6 | Racing 92 |
| Alexandre Kaddouri | Prop | 12 December 2003 | 3 | La Rochelle |
| Louis Penverne | Prop | 22 March 2003 | 8 | La Rochelle |
| Hugo Auradou | Lock | 20 July 2003 | 9 | Pau |
| Brent Liufau | Lock | 21 March 2004 | 12 | Pau |
| Posolo Tuilagi | Lock | 28 July 2004 | 6 | Perpignan |
| Esteban Capilla | Back row | 5 January 2003 | 7 | Bayonne |
| Mathis Castro-Ferreira | Back row | 13 January 2004 | 9 | Toulouse |
| Marko Gazzotti | Back row | 24 September 2004 | 8 | Grenoble |
| Oscar Jégou | Back row | 31 May 2003 | 8 | La Rochelle |
| Lenni Nouchi (c) | Back row | 24 November 2003 | 10 | Montpellier |
| Andy Timo | Back row | 28 May 2004 | 4 | Massy |
| Noa Zinzen | Back row | 24 February 2004 | 2 | Racing 92 |
| Léo Carbonneau | Scrum-half | 7 October 2004 | 9 | Brive |
| Baptiste Jauneau | Scrum-half | 17 November 2003 | 16 | Clermont |
| Clément Mondinat | Fly-half | 29 October 2003 | 4 | Pau |
| Hugo Reus | Fly-half | 21 February 2004 | 8 | La Rochelle |
| Maxence Biasotto1 | Centre | 8 July 2004 | 1 | Brive |
| Paul Costes | Centre | 4 April 2003 | 8 | Toulouse |
| Léon Darricarrère1 | Centre | 4 June 2004 | 1 | Clermont |
| Nicolas Depoortère (vc) | Centre | 13 January 2003 | 13 | Bordeaux Bègles |
| Arthur Mathiron | Centre | 19 May 2003 | 6 | Lyon |
| Léo Drouet | Wing | 1 August 2003 | 7 | Provence |
| Maël Moustin | Wing | 22 April 2003 | 3 | Bordeaux Bègles |
| Mathis Ferté | Fullback | 2 February 2004 | 8 | Brive |
| Théo Attisogbé | Fullback | 19 November 2004 | 7 | Pau |
Previous squads
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The following 28 players were called up for the 2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Argentina.[5]
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Competitive record
World Rugby Under 20 Championship
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 2008 | 5th-8th place | 6th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 155 | 102 |
| 2009 | 5th-8th place | 5th | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 202 | 100 |
 2010 | 5th-8th place | 5th | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 146 | 94 |
 2011 | Semi-final | 4th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 117 | 114 |
 2012 | 5th-8th place | 6th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 102 | 89 |
| 2013 | 5th-8th place | 5th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 116 | 101 |
| 2014 | 5th-8th place | 6th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 105 | 83 |
| 2015 | Semi-final | 4th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 121 | 111 |
 2016 | 9th-12th place | 9th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 160 | 129 |
 2017 | Semi-final | 4th | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 144 | 124 |
| 2018 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 145 | 97 |
| 2019 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 138 | 110 |
| 2020–2022 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||
| 2023 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 255 | 90 |
| 2024 | ||||||||
| Total | 13/13 | 3 Titles | 65 | 45 | 1 | 19 | 1906 | 1344 |
Honours
References
- "Les Bleuets remportent le Tournoi" [The Bleuets won the Championship]. Rugbyrama (in French). 18 March 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- Burgaud, Florian (14 July 2023). "XV de France U20 - Les Bleuets sur le toit du monde, la France sacrée pour la troisième fois de suite" [France U20 - The Bleuets on top of the world, France crowned three times in a row]. Rugbyrama (in French). Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- "Jean-Marc Béderède : « Amener le maximum de joueurs vers le XV de France »" [Jean-Marc Béderède: "Drive as many players as possible to the XV de France] (in French). FFR. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- "Le groupe de France moins 20 ans pour le Championnat du monde" [France U20 squad for the World Cup] (in French). FFR. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- "France moins 20 ans : Le groupe pour le Championnat du monde" [France U20: The squad for the World Cup] (in French). FFR. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- "Champion du monde -20 : Une question de confiance !" [U20 World Champion: a matter of trust!] (in French). FFR. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
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