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France given major Six Nations boost as Emmanuel Meafou is officially eligible
By Josh Raisey
Toulouse’s 145kg lock Emmanuel Meafou will take another step towards playing for France today when he officially becomes a French citizen.
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The 25-year-old has his French naturalisation ceremony at the Toulouse City Hall, according to French outlet Midi Olympique, meaning he will be eligible to be selected by Fabien Galthie and represent Les Bleus in the Six Nations next year.
Meafou has already been part of the France squad having been drafted into their camp during the Six Nations earlier this year. There was even a hope that he would be able to play at the World Cup this year as France tried to go down the same route as the All Blacks did with Folau Fakatava to get him capped after only a three year residency period instead of five. That was not successful, however.
The 6ft 8in lock has taken a circuitous route on his way to potentially representing France having been born in New Zealand to Samoan parents and having grown up in Australia. He arrived in France in late 2018 after a failed attempt at making it in the NFL, where he became an eye-watering 160kg, which means he now meets the requirement for French citizenship.
Meafou has frequently expressed his desire to represent France ever since he burst onto the scene last year. Speaking on Le French Rugby podcast in 2022, he said: “Oh man, I want to play for France.
“France is definitely on my radar. There’s been a little bit of discussion around it and I’ve been working around getting my passport, but I want to play at top level.
“I’ve been here now for over three years now so I would definitely love to play for France – if that came up I would definitely say yes to that. Until then, I want to play some good rugby for Toulouse and see what comes from it.”
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After both Uini Atonio and Romain Taofifenua retired after France’s quarter-final exit at the World Cup, Galthie will lose a combined 282kg in his pack, so Meafou will help to fill that hole nicely.
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