At the age of 35, Nallet’s days with Les Bleus appeared to be over but he will now get the chance to add to his three Six Nations titles.

And Saint-André admitted he had no hesitation about calling the veteran forward into the side ahead of uncapped pair Mickael De Marco and Christophe Samson.

He said: “We wanted a powerful player with the same profile as Romain, Lionel’s experience as well as his physical and mental qualities led us to call him into the squad.”

When he announced his squad Saint-André had made clear that those players who just missed out on selection would be ready to come into the squad in case of injuries.

He added: “Every player who missed out who I was able to get on the phone is in the starting blocks and ready to give France a hand if needed. They are there, they will keep working and if ever we need them I can assure you they will join up with us straightaway.”