French rugby in perfect harmony 18 months before home World Cup

Let’s start with Ange Capuozzo’s break, one step, two steps, a swerve, a curve, a burst, 10, 20, 30, 40m and more past one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine flailing Welsh defenders. You knew Capuozzo must be good just from the look of him when he came off the bench to make his debut against Scotland the previous week –a man that small and pretty must have something about him to get ahead in Test rugby – but it’s been startling to watch him this past fortnight, when he has scored two tries and set up one of the greatest, and most famous, in the history of the competition.

Even in Cardiff, 400 miles away from the Stade de France and four hours before kick-off in the grand slam match, there was a French flavour to the championship. They know all about Capuozzo down in France’s second division. He qualified for Italy through his father but he was born, raised, and plays in Grenoble (for now; he is moving to Toulouse next season). In England, where the Premiership is ring‑fenced, that kind of promotion has become almost unthinkable, but in France it is not nearly so rare.

Capuozzo is not the only player who has stepped up to Test rugby from the second division in recent years. France’s full-back, Melvyn Jaminet, was playing there last season, so was the man from whom he took over, Anthony Bouthier, the season before that. The scrum‑half Léo Coly, who won his France first call-up at the start of the tournament, still is. Which speaks to the strength in depth of French rugby, yes, and the open-mindedness of their coaches, but also to the way in which winning the 2023 World Cup has become a national project for the French, one that has pulled in every last one of France’s 1,900-odd clubs. It is as if the next