The Autumn Nations Cup final is set to become a farce as France is forced to field a B team due to constraints placed on France's head coach Fabien Galthie.
An agreement reached between France and the French Top14 clubs, limits Galthie to pick a player for a maximum of three tests during the Autumn Nations Cap. This agreement was reached after the French Top14 clubs threatened legal action in response to the extended international window announced for 2020.
Galthie has since named a 31 man squad with only Brice Dulin and Uini Atonio who have played more than ten tests. Two players that represented France in their win against Italy, Teddy Thomas and Baptiste Serin must also return to their clubs. The loss of Serin who was captain against Italy means that France must appoint their third captain for the series.
This year's Autumn International rugby matches was replaced by a new eight-team tournament – the Autumn Nations Cup – which features the Six Nations teams (England, France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy) plus Fiji and Georgia.
The Autumn Nations Cup will see 16 matches played across four weekends, running from Friday 13th November to Sunday 6th December.
Fiji has not played in one game due to several positive Covid19 cases.
France qualified after ending first in Group B after wins against Scotland (22-15) and Italy (36-5). Their game against Fiji was cancelled due to Covid19.
The playoffs for the Autumn Nations Cup are:
05/12/2020
Seven & Eight - Ge0rgia vs Fiji
Five & Six - Wales vs Italy
Three and Four - Ireland vs Scotland
06/12/2020
Final - England vs France