Jonny clone Carbonel should be at RWC

LOUIS Carbonel is the closest thing there is to a young Jonny Wilkinson, and it is no surprise that he comes from Toulon, the club that the England 2003 World Cup-winning hero transformed into treble European Cup winners from 2013 to 2015 through his peerless work ethic, and remarkable skill and resolve. Not only is Carbonel a similar build, with a similar haircut, he also has the same matchwinning DNA having already steered the French U20 side to World Rugby Junior Championship titles in 2018 and 2019. Carbonel demonstrated this when France U20 made it a world champion double in Argentina in June, booking his team their place in the final after kicking five penalties in their 20-7 victory over South Africa – which included a 48metre monster that Wilkinson would have been proud to have in his locker. Carbonel then held his nerve in the 24-23 thriller final against Australia, kicking 14 points including the match-clinching penalty. Given that trackrecord, and given that fly-half is an intractable problem position for France and that they are building towards becoming world champions as 2023 World Cup hosts, you would have thought this year’s tournament in Japan was the ideal opportunity to blood the 20-year-old Carbonel at senior level. For the record, that is what Clive Woodward did by including Wilkinson in his 1999 World Cup squad when he was 20. France have missed a trick by not ensuring Carbonel was part of their 2019 World Cup plans.