The French Rugby Federation (FFR) said on Monday that head coach Fabien Galthie was the right man to lead the team despite the Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat on home soil.

Highly-fancied France were knocked out of the competition by holders South Africa 29-28 on  Sunday.

Galthie, 54, took over in December 2019 and reinvigorated an under-achieving team.

The former France captain has guided Les Bleus to a first Six Nations title in more than a decade as well as impressive Test wins over New Zealand and the Springboks.

"He is the right person for the years to come," the FFR's president Florian Grill told AFP.

"The result of one night is not going erase four exceptional years," he added.

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