Former England star Anthony Watson has slated the \u201ccriminal\u201d decision to leave Damian Penaud out of the French squad for the 2026 Six Nations.<\/p>\n
Les Blues\u2019 wider squad was announced recently, with the all-time top try scorer excluded in favour of younger, less experienced talents.<\/p>\n
Penaud, who has scored 40 tries for his country, averaging 0.68 tries per match, has appeared to be punished for his recent defensive issues and struggles under the high ball. With the emergence of opposite wide man Louis Bielle-Biarrey, there appears to be less need for another out-and-out try scorer in the squad.<\/p>\n
Watson, appearing on the For The Love Of Rugby Podcast, has argued that the rewards greatly outweigh the risks, however.<\/p>\n
\u201cCompletely criminal,\u201d said the 31-year-old. \u201cHonestly, I think it\u2019s just outrageous. He\u2019s France\u2019s top Six Nations try scorer, and to leave him out makes absolutely no sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, they\u2019ve got some good other wingers, but in my opinion, none to the level of Damian Penaud<\/a>, none as proven as him. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not making out like the kick chase isn\u2019t a serious part of the game, but when it\u2019s something as minor as that, with everything else he brings to the game, I just think it\u2019s very harsh.\u201d<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as\u00a0a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a>\u00a0for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n All Blacks aim dig at the Wallabies in since-deleted post as \u2018utterly indefensible\u2019 Rugby World Cup opening match slammed<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIf his nose is out of joint \u2013 so what?\u201d<\/p>\n Watson\u2019s former Leicester Tigers teammate, Dan Cole<\/a>, had other ideas, however: \u201cHe\u2019s fannying around in Europe, isn\u2019t he. Like, there are certain times when he could have scored tries, and he\u2019s like, flicking it inside. <\/p>\n \u201cPart of me loves that, because that\u2019s just so out there as a character. But if you\u2019re a French team and you\u2019re building, and you\u2019ve got someone going rogue who\u2019s just trying to get assists rather than scoring.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you not think there\u2019s a potential there to actually go to Th\u00e9o Attissogbe<\/a> has been brilliant. When he came in, he scored twice. It\u2019s like, we\u2019ve got a guy who\u2019s gonna push.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can bring Penaud back in at some point, whenever it\u2019s gonna be good to go, and if his nose is out of joint \u2013 so what?\u201d<\/p>\n France have indeed selected Attissogbe on the wing, with the hugely talented Kalvin Gourgues acting as back-up across the backfield, as France opt for a 6-2 split on the bench.<\/p>\n