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DUNCAN JOHNSTONE
Last updated 07:34 16/09/2014
New Zealand players David Smith, Alex Tulou and Uini Atonio are part of an enlarged French squad being eyed as potential internationals a year out from the Rugby World Cup.
France has named a 74-man squad with an eye to long-term planning.
The group includes "10 potentially selectable foreigners", and big-stepping wing Smith, prop Atonio and loose forward Tulou fit the bill on eligibility clauses having being based in the French club system for three years or more and without any test appearances for other countries.
Australians Brock James and Blair Connor were in the group, along with South Africans François van der Merwe Scott Spedding and Rory Kockott, as well as England's Stefa Armitage and Fiji's Noa Nakaitaci.
France coach Philippe Saint-André believed they had a desire to play for France.
"Eventually they will declare their love for France. But I can tell you that the ten players are very much in love with France," Saint-André said at a press conference, announcing the squad.
Samoan-born Smith has been with French and European champions Toulon since 2011.
He burst onto the New Zealand scene as a teenage star with Auckland, but also played for Wellington and Taranaki and had a busy Super Rugby career with the Hurricanes, Blues and Western Force, eventually heading overseas when he realised he wasn't going to crack the All Blacks in the highly competitive position.
Tulou was an American-Samoan whose rugby education came in New Zealand via Wellington and Taranaki. He was good enough to play a game for New Zealand Sevens in 2008. He switched to Bourgoin in 2010 and has been with Montpellier since 2011.
Atonio was born in Timaru and schooled at rugby nursery Wesley College, playing for Countie-Manukau in 2010 and 2011 before joining Stade Rochelais.
France's move came as increased scrutiny went on player eligibility following a loophole engineered to ensure more competitive teams were involved in the sevens competition as the sport got ready for its Olympics debut at Rio in 2016.
France have made noises about selecting Armitage, the European player of the year, via the sevens route.
Meanwhile, former Hawke's Bay and Chiefs prop Sona Taumalolo has made a move into the French top 14 scene, joining Racing Metro from Perpignan who were relegated to the second division.
Taumalolo, a Tongan international, had a clause in his contract allowing him to join a top 14 club and has exercised that right, moving up to cover the absence of Racing Metro's Georgian prop Davit Khinchagishvili who faces six months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
And Toulon continued their heavyweight chequebook work, singing Argentina star Juan Martín Hernández on a six-month contract from January to replace Wallabies bad boy James O'Connor, who was returning to Super Rugby with the Reds.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/i...ch-rugby-squad
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Originally Posted by Alison
