There’s a new look to les Bleus this year but who will kick for France in the Six Nations?

Shorn of regular skipper Antoine Dupont, France have Maxime Lucu starting at nine against Ireland on Friday night in Marseille. In France, it is very common to see scrum-halves kicking. Just think back to the days of Dimitri Yachvili and Morgan Parra, for example.

Related: Why is Antoine Dupont not playing in the Six Nations?

However you won’t see Lucu lining up an attempt at goal in a France shirt, although he does occasionally kick at the posts for club side Bordeaux. And you also won’t have fly-half Matthieu Jalibert, another Bordeaux boy, kicking off the tee either.

France placekicker for Six Nations fantasy

Instead it will be Toulouse full-back Thomas Ramos, who will also be the fly-half cover after Fabien Galthié named a 6-2 split on the bench for the opener. Ramos has a reliable boot and having a No 15 with kicking responsibilities is not a new thing for France as Melvyn Jaminet previously did the same when he was the incumbent starter.

Ramos is a good choice for your Six Nations fantasy rugby sides as he is sure to slot plenty of penalties and conversions across the championship. He’s also not adverse to the odd try and could be a banker for points after a super 2023 campaign.

Read more: Why are France not playing at the Stade de France?

Ramos was the leading points scorer last year with 84 points and a large part of that was due to his high kicking percentages. Ramos finished the 2023 championship with an 85% success rate off the tee – the best of any nation.

According to Opta, France scored five points more than expected based on the difficulty of their kicks. Not bad!

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