Warren Gatland’s young side claimed the Grand Slam while France said goodbye to three stalwarts during the tournament with Julien Bonnaire, William Servat and Lionel Nallet all making their final international appearances.

But with 20-year-old Jean-Marcellin Buttin becoming the third Frenchman to make his debut in the Championship, after Wesley Fofana and Yoann Maestri, Saint-André maintains there is a bright future for Les Bleus.

He said: “The positive we have to take is the performances of the young players who we have tried out. We’ve discovered some like Maestri, Fofana and Buttin. Now we have to look towards the future. I’m confident about it.

“We won’t wait to make the team younger but we want to find a balance. We’ve already put together a list of players. We will keep watching the end of the Top 14 but we need players with a good physical potential, otherwise they won’t cope at international level.

“We had a fairly old team, it’s true. But the World Cup runners-up deserved to play in the Six Nations. If I had the chance again I would make the same decision.

“We were two turnovers away from playing for the Grand Slam in Cardiff and that would have been a fitting goodbye for Servat and Bonnaire. It’s easy to say afterwards that it was the wrong decision.

“We’ve brought in several players. Aside from the younger guys, [Vincent] Debaty, [David] Attoub and [Florian] Fritz have been given the chance again.

“We’ll see more new players in Argentina in the summer because some of the experienced guys will get a rest. We are starting a new cycle heading into the next World Cup.”