- Fly-half has jaw fracture and will miss start of tournament
- Matthieu Jalibert the frontrunner to replace 21-year-old
France’s preparations for the 2021 Six Nations have suffered a significant blow after the fly-half Romain Ntamack revealed he has sustained a double jaw fracture. Ntamack requires surgery and is likely to miss the start of France’s championship.
The 21-year-old was among the shining lights of this year’s competition and was on the shortlist for player of the championship, forging an impressive half-back partnership with his Toulouse teammate Antoine Dupont, but France are set to begin their campaign away to Italy on 6 February without him. He did not feature in France’s extra-time defeat in the Autumn Nations Cup final defeat by England with Matthieu Jalibert deputising and the Bordeaux fly-half would again be the frontrunner to replace him for the start of the Six Nations.