With the Guinness Six Nations all over, for the men at least, the thoughts of Les Bleus now turn fully to the Rugby World Cup 2023 which is approaching at a rate of knots.

France fly half Romain Ntamack “The Six Nations is over, it was our last deadline before the Rugby World Cup so we now think about it more and more. We tell ourselves that the next time we get together it will be for real. It’s a little weird because we’ve had it in the back our minds for so long, we work for it, it’s getting closer but we must moderate this obsession”

The attritional Top 14 season ends on June 17 and eight days later the 42 man national squad assemble, when France embark on their initial training block at Carpiagne, a military training camp east of Marseille, from there they head to Monaco, before returning to the home comforts of Marcoussis. In August they head to Capbreton north of Biarritz for a few mouthfuls of Atlantic air.

France have four warm up matches prior to their opening RWC match against New Zealand. They face Scotland twice, at Murrayfield on 5th August, and again in Saint-Etienne on 12 August. They then entertain Fiji in Nantes on 19 August.

The final 33 man Rugby World squad is announced on 21 August, before the final warm up game against Australia at Stade de France in Paris on Sunday August 27.

After that final warm up game France will take up residence at Rueil-Malmaison in the Hauts-de-Seine for the duration of RWC 2023.