France’s ‘premium player’ policy backfires as Romain Ntamack ruled out of Italy clash

Romain Ntamack’s three-game suspension is set to include France’s Six Nations fixture against Italy according to reports.

The fly-half was handed the ban after appearing before an independent disciplinary committee having received a red card for his attempted tackle against Wales in round one of the championship.

Romain Ntamack’s ban

Ntamack collided with opposite number Ben Thomas in the latter stages of the match and while he was initially shown a yellow card by referee Paul Williams, the challenge was sent to be reviewed by Foul Play Review Officer Damon Murphy.

Murphy deemed that the incident warranted a red card and the independent disciplinary committee agreed handing the pivot a three-match ban.

Ntamack is set to cut his suspension by a match by undertaking World Rugby’s Coaching Intervention Programme. In confirming his sanction, a Six Nations statement said that the fly-half would miss the clash against England at Twickenham with the second fixture to be confirmed by the Disciplinary Committee in due course.

It was hoped by the France coaching set-up that Toulouse’s Top 14 clash against Clermont on Sunday – during the Six Nations fallow week – would count towards his ban making him available for the round three match against Italy on February 23.

However, it has been widely reported in France that Six Nations officials have refused the French Rugby Federation (FFR)’s claim for the club fixture to be taken into account.

It is stated that Ntamack’s status as a ‘Premium’ player for France has factored into the decision as he would not have been available to Toulouse this weekend for the Top 14 fixture.

The deal with the FFR and Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) is to assist the playing load of the best players in France. These 20 players benefit from four mandatory weeks off and four weeks without matches.

They are also not generally considered for selection for the July internationals which has also caused a stir with Les Bleus set to clash with the All Blacks in New Zealand void of their ‘premium’ players.

Despite Ntamack playing his first international for France against Wales since before the 2023 Rugby World Cup, he is one of these premium players and it is understood that the selection policy has been taken into account by the panel.

Watch: Romain Ntamack makes unwanted history after ‘lazy’ tackle punished with 20-minute red card

Starting 10 v Italy?

In his absence, Bordeaux star Matthieu Jalibert started in the number 10 jersey in the round two defeat to England at the Allianz Stadium with Antoine Dupont taking over in the latter stages of the match.

Ahead of the weekend’s Top 14 action, the FFR released the list of 19 players that would not be available for their clubs with Ntamack’s name not featuring along with the likes of Damian Penaud, Gregory Alldritt, Peato Mauvaka and others.

With the Toulouse playmaker set to miss the clash against Italy, who they drew with in last year’s Six Nations, Jalibert is likely to battle it out with Thomas Ramos and Dupont for the starting jersey.

Jalibert endured an underwhelming performance against England which could see him being replaced by Ramos in the starting XV.

READ MORE: Opinion: France are robbing the public of an all-time great series against the All Blacks