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Cape Town - South African-born Rory Kockott says he now considers himself a French player after cracking the nod in their squad.
The 28-year-old former Sharks and Lions scrumhalf, who now plays for Top 14 club Castres, was on Sunday included by coach Philippe Saint-Andre in a 30-man French squad for a training camp ahead of the November Tests.
Kockott has a dream of playing Test rugby and appears to have given up hope of playing for the Springboks.
"I'll always have respect for the Springboks, but I have a (Test) team to play for now and I consider myself as a full-blown French player," he told Volksblad.
Kockott said Bok coach Heyneke Meyer contacted him a while back.
"He told me where I fit into the Bok picture. But I then decided only to focus on doing my best in my quest for playing international rugby. "
France squad:
Forwards: Xavier Chiocci (Toulon), Alexandre Menini (Toulon), Benjamin Kayser (Clermont), Guilhem Guirado (Toulon), Nicolas Mas (Montpellier), Uini Atonio (La Rochelle), Rabah Slimani (Stade Francais), Alexandre Flanquart (Stade Francais), Yoann Maestri (Toulouse), Pascal Pape (Stade Francais), Romain Taofifenua (Toulon), Damien Chouly (Clermont), Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse), Bernard Le Roux (Racing-Metro), Yannick Nyanga (Toulouse), Charles Ollivon (Bayonne)
Backs: Rory Kockott (Castres), Sebastien Tillous-Borde (Toulon), Remi Tales (Castres), Francois Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), Camille Lopez (Clermont), Mathieu Bastareaud (Toulon), Wesley Fofana (Clermont), Remi Lamerat (Castres), Maxime Mermoz (Toulon), Teddy Thomas (Racing-Metro), Sofiane Guitoune (Bordeaux-Begles), Benjamin Fall (Montpellier), Brice Dulin (Racing-Metro), Yoann Huget (Toulouse)
The 28-year-old former Sharks and Lions scrumhalf, who now plays for Top 14 club Castres, was on Sunday included by coach Philippe Saint-Andre in a 30-man French squad for a training camp ahead of the November Tests.
Kockott has a dream of playing Test rugby and appears to have given up hope of playing for the Springboks.
"I'll always have respect for the Springboks, but I have a (Test) team to play for now and I consider myself as a full-blown French player," he told Volksblad.
Kockott said Bok coach Heyneke Meyer contacted him a while back.
"He told me where I fit into the Bok picture. But I then decided only to focus on doing my best in my quest for playing international rugby. "
France squad:
Forwards: Xavier Chiocci (Toulon), Alexandre Menini (Toulon), Benjamin Kayser (Clermont), Guilhem Guirado (Toulon), Nicolas Mas (Montpellier), Uini Atonio (La Rochelle), Rabah Slimani (Stade Francais), Alexandre Flanquart (Stade Francais), Yoann Maestri (Toulouse), Pascal Pape (Stade Francais), Romain Taofifenua (Toulon), Damien Chouly (Clermont), Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse), Bernard Le Roux (Racing-Metro), Yannick Nyanga (Toulouse), Charles Ollivon (Bayonne)
Backs: Rory Kockott (Castres), Sebastien Tillous-Borde (Toulon), Remi Tales (Castres), Francois Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), Camille Lopez (Clermont), Mathieu Bastareaud (Toulon), Wesley Fofana (Clermont), Remi Lamerat (Castres), Maxime Mermoz (Toulon), Teddy Thomas (Racing-Metro), Sofiane Guitoune (Bordeaux-Begles), Benjamin Fall (Montpellier), Brice Dulin (Racing-Metro), Yoann Huget (Toulouse)
