JAMES HARRINGTON
FRENCH COLUMN

HOW do you solve a problem like Matthieu Jalibert? The 25-year-old Bordeaux fly-half is, undoubtedly, one of the talents of French rugby. He made his senior debut before a certain Romain Ntamack – and it was, arguably, only a serious knee injury that allowed the Toulouse 10 to take his successful shot at the French 10 shirt.
It was not a surprise to see Jalibert in Fabien Galthie’s first squad of 42. Those came elsewhere: notably in the absences of either one of the scrum-half Baptistes – Serin or Couilloud. The two nines have to f...