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BroncoKiwi
French Rugby League World Cup Squad
October 7th 2008 12:32
Category: Official Squads
Les Catalans Dragons have dominated the French World Cup squad, with fourteen players from the franchise included in the 23-man lineup
Captain Jerome Guisset, Laurent Carrasco and Julien Rinaldi are the sole survivors from the 2000 campaign, while Jared Taylor, John Wilson and Jean-Philippe Baile are the potential debutants.
Wilson and speedy winger Justin Murphy will be familiar to Australian audiences, as both players had lengthy NRL careers before moving to the south of France and qualifying for the squad thanks to the three year residency rule.
According to the experienced Rinaldi, the introduction of the Catalans to the English Super League has allowed French players to improve immeasurably.
"Since the Dragons went into Super League the playing standards of the French players have improved considerably," he said speaking to the Sun.
“That point has been proved by the fact that the Dragons finished third in the Super League table at the end of the weekly rounds after a couple of years of being at the bottom end of the table.
“And in the domestic French game standards are going up as everybody wants to be the same as in Super League.”
The team is coached by the experienced John Monie, who has previously coached the Wigan Warriors, London Broncos, Parramatta Eels and New Zealand Warriors.
France begin their quest for world cup glory against Scotland in Canberra on October 26.
NRL Live's Player to Watch - Thomas Bosc
Thomas Bosc is hardly a house hold name but from what I've seen of him, he'll be a player to keep your eye on during the World Cup. Bosc started his career as an outside back but has since moved into the halves with great success - guiding the Catalans Dragons to third in this year's English Super League. Since debuting in 2006, the 25-year old has accumulated 23 tries and 160 goals. Bosc is similar in style to Terry Campese of the Canberra Raiders and has both the passing and running game of a good five-eighth.
Squad:
Backs:
Jared Taylor (Lézignan)
Justin Murphy (Catalan Dragons)
Teddy Sadaoui (Carcassonne)
Sebastien Raguin (Catalan Dragons)
Sebastien Planed (Toulouse)
John Wilson (Catalan Dragons)
Dimitri Pelo (Catalan Dragons)
Christophe Moly (Carcassonne)
James Wynne (Lézignan)
Maxime Grésèque (Pia)
Thomas Bosc (Catalan Dragons)
Forwards:
Laurent Carrasco (Villeneuve)
Grégory Mounis (Catalan Dragons)
Eric Anselme (Leeds)
Jamal Fakir (Catalan Dragons)
Jean-Christophe Borlin (Saint-Gaudens)
Olivier Elima (Catalan Dragons)
Adel Fellous (Lézignan)
Jean-Philippe Baille (Catalan Dragons)
Jerome Guisset (captain, Catalan Dragons)
Julien Rinaldi (Harlequins London)
Remi Casty (Catalan Dragons)
Matthieu Grifi (Catalan Dragons
Coach: John Monie
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