French striker Damian Penaud, who scored Saturday morning’s Nations Championship opener against the All Blacks, was injured at half-time. Fabien Galtier reports his news.
Damian Penaud is back in the France XV shirt. this Saturday for the first match of the Nations Championshipafter being eliminated from the last Six Nations Tournament. Sent out at half-time and replaced by Antoine Asta at the back in place of Max Spring, who had moved to the wing, the Union Bordeaux-Begles player suffered a calf injury.
Coach Fabien Galtier spoke about his injury after the defeat to the Blues (34-32): “We have forwards that have come out, we have versatile three-quarters. Is the injury irreversible? Let’s see. He chose to stop because he felt tension in his calf before it tore, that’s what he told us. In any case, there are 42 of us, we have something to work on.”
Damian Penaud had a mixed forty minutes. To his credit, he scored a try in his pure style, becoming UBB number 13. With his speed, he was caught out in New Zealand, leading to a try from All Black flanker Peter Lakay. Between all this, Damian Penaud looked excited, interested and focused. Makes sense since the 2027 World Cup in Australia is just over a year away and its place is far from guaranteed.