France have been forced into an embarrassing climbdown after calling Castres winger David Smith into their Six Nations squad.
French rugby thought the Samoan-born player was eligible as a result of playing in the country since 2011, first with Toulon and currently with Castres.
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[/raw]#XVdeFrance Voici le groupe France pour la match face au Pays de Galles, vendredi 21h! #PDGFRA #soutienslexv pic.twitter.com/JMh1O5E6sJ
— FF Rugby (@FFRugby) February 21, 2016
But after naming him in the extended squad preparing to face Wales on Friday night they discovered he was not eligible to play as a result of having played for New Zealand at the 2008 Edinburgh Sevens.
French Rugby said they had a document they believed confirmed the player's eligibility, but when Smith arrived at the training camp he immediately told them about playing with the All Blacks. As a result he is being released back to his club.
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[/raw]David Smith pas éligible avec le XV de France. Son remplaçant annoncé lundi matin #AFP
— Jeremy Marot (@JeremyMarot) February 21, 2016
H/T: Newstalk
