Samoan-born lock forward Posolo Tuilagi’s hopes of a Six Nations debut for France have been dashed after a delay in receiving his French passport, his club told AFP on Friday.
The 19-year-old, who plays for Top 14 side Perpignan, featured at the Under-20 World Cup last year where the possession of a French passport was not mandatory.
However, the document has been required for the senior national squad since 2016 when Bernard Laporte took over the country’s rugby federation and “made the political decision to no longer allow foreign players in the national team”.
Toulouse lock Emmanuel Meafou, who was born in Australia, experienced the same setback last year when he was unable to play at the Rugby World Cup being hosted by France.
He eventually became naturalised in November and is expected to be named in the 34-man squad for the Six Nations to be unveiled by coach Fabien Galthie on Wednesday.
France begin their Six Nations campaign at home to defending champions Ireland on February 2.
