Centre, who has 23 caps for Les Bleus, is set to miss hotly anticipated tournament opener against the All Blacks due to a hamstring strain
France’s preparation for the World Cup opener against New Zealand suffered another blow with an injury to centre Jonathan Danty.
According to reports in L’Equipe, Danty will miss the most hotly anticipated opening World Cup match of all time, against the All Blacks a week on Friday, due to a hamstring strain.
Fabien Galthie, the France head coach, had already seen his midfield plans go up in smoke with the news that Romain Ntamack, the first-choice fly-half, had been ruled out for the whole tournament due to knee ligament damage. Cyril Baille, the loosehead, will also miss the opener at the Stade de France and, perhaps, subsequent group games with a calf niggle.
Now Galthie must deal with the loss of his starting inside centre for France’s most challenging pool match, against a reeling New Zealand team that was pummelled 35-7 by South Africa at Twickenham last Friday. At this stage, there has been no suggestion from across the Channel that Danty will miss more than one World Cup match, meaning Galthie is unlikely to call up a replacement in his stead. Especially given the centre’s importance to the French cause.