Rookie South Sydney Rabbitohs playmaker Latrell Siegwalt has declared his desire to pull on the Tricolours, telling French coach Laurent Frayssinous he is determined to honour his French roots at the Rugby League World Cup 2026, as he hopes for an NRL debut this year.
Frayssinous made the trip to Australia alongside Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII president, Dominique Baloup, to meet Siegwalt, along with French talents Enzo Griffier and Louis Grossemy, as well as to explore training facilities in Sydney and Perth for the French team.
Siegwalt earns his French eligibility through his paternal grandfather, and with the versatility to play fullback or in the halves, it gives France options on what their team could look like.
“Latrell is very, very keen and he wants to play for his heritage on his father's side,” Frayssinous revealed to the RLWC site.
“He is very excited. I spent 30 or 40 minutes with him, and I explained to him what playing for France is like.
“He liked what I said, and I liked what I heard from him, as well, about how proud he is to one day wear the Tricolours jersey.
“He is very keen, so it is up to him to perform week in and week out to be able to play for France.
"That's what we need, to have a strong 24-man squad for the World Cup, we need players to push each other throughout the season and play the best they can.
With several players staking their claims across various NRL clubs, the coach made clear that consistency will be the price of admission when World Cup selections are made.
"I will follow all of their performances through the season, and I hope that they will perform because we have got a good squad, but if they perform week in-and week-out, they will definitely be pushing for spots," Frayssinous sternly said.
