Serge Blanco, vice-president of the French Rugby Federation, has spoken out against the selection of Rory Kockott for the French national team.

The famous former France fullback has been tasked with overseeing Philipe Saint-André's overhaul of the current French squad after a long period of underachievement.

In his first bold move, Blanco has taken aim at Rory Kockott, the South African-born Castres scrumhalf who will become eligible for French selection in November. According to reports in Le Figaro, Blanco appears to differ with the view shared by Saint-André that Kockott can become a key figure for the Tricolors.

'It would be serious to wait for one player like that,' said Blanco. 'I'm much more interested in our style of play and then we can look at which players can fit in.'

'We have local players to look at, players like [Toulon scrumhalf] Sébastien Tillous-Borde.'

Kockott could well see his plans for an international career with France scuppered if Blanco gets his way. Frédéric Michalak is another player whose international future is under the spotlight. The experienced French flyhalf has struggled to hold down a starting berth at Toulon and Blanco believes that it may be time to look elsewhere.

'It's a problem if a player chooses to play in a club where he is not guaranteed to start,' he said.

'We don't want players who only come on for the last 10 minutes anymore.'

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