When did the French squad get announced?

So the French forty-man squad was released, but with no one telling me I wasn't able to comment on how fantastic it is to see genuine French players playing for their country. However that is not necessarily the case, with five Australians qualifying on residency, three of those playing in the French Rugby League Championship. The other two being John Wilson and Justin Murphy.

However there are good signs in that all but one of the forty-man squad do actually play in France. The only exception is French hooker Julian Rinaldi, who is playing for Harlequins until the end of the season. The fact that French players are playing for UK clubs is a good things as they are good enough to attract the attention of established clubs in Super League. It is a small but important step in growing the game on the north Mediterranean coast.

The French announcement leaves only England and Scotland the only teams not to have announced their provisional squads to the wider public. Both coaches have come under criticism for failing to do so, with tournament officials claiming in doing so the tournament is attracting less publicity. While it would be nice to see which players have caught Tony Smith's eye, he knows what he is doing and is no doubt leaving it as late as possible as to keep players guessing and therefore performing week in, week out to the highest standard possible.