Why France’s great eight Gregory Alldritt is the real deal

It looked for all the world that La Rochelle's bulldozing eight would be unavailable for the trip to Rome when - four days before Fabien Galthie's selected players met up  - an knee injury sidelined him

France's number 8 Gregory Alldritt.

He may have joked at Thursday's squad unveiling that settling on a menu had been the toughest recent decision he and his coaches had to make at France's Six Nations training camp in Nice - but Fabien Galthie was, no doubt, quietly relieved he could select one particular player for today's Six Nations opener against Italy.

Gregory Alldritt has rocketed up the list of must-have players in the France squad in the two years since he won the first of his 18 caps two years ago. He's probably the first name on any list drawn up by France staff as they begin selection discussions, ahead even of Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack or Virimi Vakatawa.