Thibaud Flament to miss Ireland Six Nations clash to attend wife's fertility treatment

Stade Toulousain's Thibaud Flament will miss France's six nations opener against Ireland. Pic: Federico Pestellini/Inpho

Thibaud Flament will miss France's Six Nations opener against Ireland in order to attend his wife's fertility treatment appointment, the lock has confirmed.

The 28-year-old explained his decision on Thursday, after having been chosen to be a part of Fabien Galthie's 42-player squad earlier in the week.

Galthie previously confirmed on Thursday that Flament would miss the game due to personal reasons but didn't explain further.

"You can't control the date. The timing is based on the menstrual cycle of women, with a whole protocol around it," Flament told French publication L'Equipe.

"We learned at the beginning of January that ART (assisted reproductive technology) falls in the same week as Ireland.

"Even if I saw this possibility coming, it's not possible to do both, so I won't play."