Injury-hit France hand Capilla a debut as Dupont and Ntamack reunite against Fiji

France head coach Fabien Galthié has named an injury-hit side for Saturday's Nations Championship meeting with Fiji in Lyon, handing uncapped Bayonne back-row Esteban Capilla a place on the bench and reuniting Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack at half-back for the first time since March 2025.

Capilla, 23, is in line to make his Test debut at the Groupama Stadium after being called into the matchday 23 following a rib injury sustained by Oscar Jegou in training on Wednesday. The former France Sevens international has been named as back-row cover in a 6-2 split on the bench, and his selection underlines how far down his depth chart Galthié has been forced to reach this week.

Dupont captains the side from scrum-half, with Ntamack outside him at fly-half. It will be the 30th time the Toulouse pair have started together as France's half-back combination, and the first since March 2025, with injuries and strategic rests having kept them apart at Test level for much of the intervening period. Maxime Lucu, who shone in Dupont's absence during the July Nations Championship fixtures, drops to the bench, where he provides cover alongside Emilien Gailleton.

There is a first start for Kalvin Gourgues at outside centre. The rising star has made four appearances for France from the bench and now gets his chance from the opening whistle, partnering Yoram Moefana in midfield. Théo Attissogbe starts at full-back in the absence of Thomas Ramos, while Louis Bielle-Biarrey returns on the left wing and Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang starts on the right. Bielle-Biarrey, the two-time reigning Six Nations Player of the Tournament, remains one of the most dangerous finishers in the world game, and France will look to give him early ball against a Fiji side that thrives on broken-field running.

François Cros gets the nod at number eight, with Gregory Alldritt overlooked for the starting jersey. Cros is joined in the loose trio by Cameron Woki and Paul Boudehent, while Mickaël Guillard and Florian Verhaeghe form the second row in the absence of the injured Emmanuel Meafou and Thibaud Flament. Jean-Baptiste Gros starts at loosehead prop, Sipili Falatea at tighthead and Maxime Lamothe is favoured at hooker ahead of Peato Mauvaka, who is named among the replacements.

The injury list Galthié is managing remains formidable. Meafou, Flament, fly-half Matthieu Jalibert and centre Fabien Brau-Boirie were already sidelined for the November internationals before the build-up to the Fiji match delivered two more blows. Anthony Jelonch joined the casualty list at the weekend after sustaining a head injury in the latest round of Top 14 action, and Jegou's rib injury in training on Wednesday then opened the door for Capilla. Ramos, meanwhile, is absent from the back three, which explains Attissogbe's move to full-back after the Pau back featured on the wing in July.

The bench carries plenty of experience to balance the debutant. Jefferson Poirot, who came out of international retirement earlier this year, is the replacement loosehead, with Régis Montagne covering tighthead and Charles Ollivon and Tom Staniforth providing second-row and back-row options. Mauvaka covers hooker, while Lucu and Gailleton are the backline replacements in the 6-2 split. It is a bench built for the final quarter, when Fiji's famous fitness and offloading game traditionally comes to the fore.

Fiji, coached by Jake White, arrive in Lyon as dangerous opponents rather than grateful guests. The Pacific Islanders have made a habit of troubling leading nations with their pace, power and willingness to play from anywhere, and France's reshuffled pack will need to match them physically before the home side's superior structure can tell. The match is France's opening November fixture on home soil in this season's Nations Championship, and the crowd at the Groupama Stadium will expect a performance to match the occasion.

The wider picture gives Saturday added weight. France sit top of the northern hemisphere standings in the Nations Championship, and a convincing win over Fiji would set up the month nicely before South Africa visit the Stade de France on 13 November and Argentina follow on 21 November. Those two fixtures will be sterner examinations of a squad still carrying a long injury list, and Galthié will want his returning half-backs to find their rhythm quickly against Fiji.

For Dupont and Ntamack, the reunion is the headline within the headline. Their understanding, built over years together at Toulouse, has been one of the foundations of France's recent success, and their absence as a pair has been felt whenever one or the other has been missing. If they click straight away in Lyon, France's attack should have the direction it needs. If they need time, Fiji have the players to make them pay.

Capilla's story is the other thread to follow. A Sevens international stepping into the fifteen-a-side Test arena off the bench, in a side shorn of senior forwards, is exactly the kind of opportunity that can define a career. Galthié has shown before that he is willing to trust youth when injuries bite, and the Bayonne forward will know that a strong cameo on Saturday could keep him in the frame for the Springboks and Argentina. The photographs accompanying this article are file photos from earlier France fixtures.

France face Fiji at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon on Saturday 7 November, with kick-off at 21:10 local time. Karl Dickson of the Rugby Football Union referees the match, with Damián Schneider and Katsuki Furuse as assistant referees and Ian Tempest as television match official.