Emmanuel Meafou, the Australian lock from Toulouse, will be unable to represent France until the conclusion of 2023, thereby ruling him out of the Rugby World Cup.
This information has been confirmed by a source closely associated with the French rugby federation.
The federation had made a request to World Rugby, the governing body of the sport, seeking approval for Meafou to play for Les Bleus during the World Cup taking place from September 8 to October 28 in France.
However, due to the changes implemented by World Rugby in 2022, which extended the residency criteria to five years from three, Meafou, who was born in New Zealand to Samoan parents and relocated to Australia at the age of two, does not meet the eligibility requirements.
Meafou, who arrived in Toulouse in December 2018, will only meet the necessary criteria to represent France from the 2024 Six Nations Championship onward.
Although the towering second-row forward, measuring 2.03 meters in height and weighing 145 kilograms, was not initially included in the 42-player World Cup squad selected by France coach Fabien Galthie, Galthie had hoped to include Meafou in the team ahead of the tournament as he had expressed his commitment to representing France in the future.
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Steve Borthwick and England get pool of death in revised World Cup draw
The World Rugby Rankings, newly published, shed light on the questionable nature of the Pool Draw for the upcoming Rugby World Cup 2023.
The draw, which took place three years in advance, appears to be heavily biased and has faced considerable backlash.
Acknowledging the criticism, World Rugby has declared that forthcoming pool draws for the Rugby World Cup will be conducted nearer to the tournament’s commencement.
The current method of relying on team rankings at the time of the draw is considered unjust, prompting this decision for a fairer approach.
According to a report by the Mirror, World Rugby will make changes to the pool draw process for the 2027 edition.
“World Rugby said it is able to make the change because of a new ‘hosting model’ that sees the international federation create collaborations with the host union,” the report read.
“The top of the men’s Test game has never been more competitive,” the spokesperson added. “There has never been so much movement over a two-year period.
“Bearing that in mind and noting the format of four pools of five teams, there is arguably no perfect time for a draw.”
As a result, the guys over at Eggchasers Rugby put together their own drawer the 2023 tournament based on the current World Rugby rankings.
Concentrating on only the top 10 countries in the world, it looks significant.
It was very different with England handed a much sterner test in their pool. Watch the full video here.
POOL A actual draw:
- France
- New Zealand
POOL A up to date draw
- France
- Australia