Former England winger Ugo Monye selected his England and France Combined XV when he met up with Planet Rugby, in association with Arthrosamid®, last week.
It wasn’t the easiest of teams to pick, but Monye has justified his selections below:
Backs
15 Thomas Ramos: “If you play fantasy rugby, you have to have him in it. He scores tries, he kicks goals, he makes assists. Stupidly good rugby player.”
14 Tommy Freeman: “Attissogbe is like green on the scene. He’s keeping out Damian Penaud, who is France’s greatest ever try scorer. I think he’s going really well, but I think if you put Tommy Freeman in the French team, he’d score just as many tries.”
13 Nicolas Depoortère: “He’s so powerful, so big. He reminds me of (Yannick) Jauzion, for those guys who are of a similar age to me – big unit, used to play at Toulouse – all the skills, so silky, makes the game look incredibly easy. He’s having a sensational Six Nations.”
12 Seb Atkinson: “Top leader, top competitor, serious professional.”
11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey: “He’s got the best strike rate of any tier one winger.”
10 Matthieu Jalibert: “I think he’s been one of the best players on the planet this year. European title winner last year. Ntamack being injured has given him an opportunity, but his form hasn’t changed, whether he be the main man at Bordeaux or the main man for France and the fact that we’ve been speaking about Jalibert, not so much Dupont, shows the calibre of player he is and just how well he’s playing.”
9 Antoine Dupont: “Dupont over everyone.”
France’s gorgeous jersey to create an unwatchable kit clash against England on Super Saturday
Forwards
8 Anthony Jelonch: “A serious bit of kit.”
7 Ben Earl: “I’m biased. I’m allowed to be biased, and I don’t care.”
6 François Cros: “Tom Curry’s been class, but I’ve got to say François Cros.”
5 Mickaël Guillard: “He’s been very, very good. Yeah, full stop. He’s a big old unit.”
4 Maro Itoje: “I’m always picking Maro, so I don’t care who he’s up against. I’m picking Maro. He’ll go down as one of the true greats of English rugby. He’s a legend, an absolute legend. England captain, Lions captain, and a proper decent bloke.”
3 Dorian Aldegheri: “I think the French pack this year has been very, very good. Aldegheri, robust player, he’s been brilliant in the scrum.”
2 Julien Marchand: “Set-piece, massive in the scrum, unbelievable over the ball, great around the park.”
1 Ellis Genge: “I’m sticking with my boy Genge. I think he’s one of the best forward runners in world rugby. Yeah, Ellis Genge at his best, one of the best on the planet.”