Damian Penaud and Antoine Dupont carry hopes in a squad of experienced internationals and relatively new faces

If last weekend’s Champions Cup performances are anything to go by, France’s stars are arriving at the Six Nations this year at the peak of their powers. In both Bordeaux’s pummelling of the Sharks and Toulouse’s dismantling of Leicester, the France stalwarts led the way – from Damian Penaud’s double hat-trick of tries to Antoine Dupont’s now-customary multipositional display, with a resurgent Romain Ntamack by his side and Thibaud Flament excelling across all areas of the pitch.

Given they provide the bulk of the national team starters, the fact that the Top 14’s top two teams are leading the way on the continental stage (but unfortunately cannot meet in the final) will only provide even more momentum for a resurgent XV de France.