France send Picamoles, Médard home

Editor

France Philippe Saint-André has trimmed his squad to the 23 players that will face the Springboks in Paris on Saturday.

France Philippe Saint-André has trimmed his squad to the 23 players that will face the Springboks at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday.

Eight players have been cut from the group while Toulouse lock Yoann Maestri has been recalled after being cleared of misconduct following his red card against Tonga.

Louis Picamoles, Maxime Médard, Gaël Fickou, Vincent Debaty, Alexandre Flanquart, Jonathan Pélissié, Antonie Claassen and Bernard Le Roux have not made the final selection and will be available for Top 14 duty this weekend.

Clermont prop Thomas Domingo has however been retained after being added to the squad on Monday having recovered from a knee injury sustained in October. He takes the place of club team-mate Debaty.

Mathieu Bastareaud's power is preferred to Fickou's guile while Yoann Huget returns after being rested against Tonga and is included at the expense of fellow Toulouse wing Médard.

Yannick Nyanga has recovered from a torn ear, meaning there is no place for Antonie Claassen. Picamoles' exit means that Damien Chouly is sure to start at the back of the scrum as the only number eight left in the squad.

France squad:

Forwards: Thomas Domingo (Clermont), Yannick Forestier (Castres), Benjamin Kayser (Clermont), Dimitri Szarzewski (Racing-Métro), Nicolas Mas (Montpellier), Rabah Slimani (Stade Français), Pascal Papé (Stade Français), Sébastien Vahaamahina (Perpignan), Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse, captain), Wenceslas Lauret (Racing-Métro), Yannick Nyanga (Toulouse), Damien Chouly (Clermont).

Backs: Jean-Marc Doussain (Toulouse), Morgan Parra (Clermont), Frédéric Michalak (Toulon), Rémi Talès (Castres), Mathieu Bastareaud (Toulon), Wesley Fofana (Clermont), Florian Fritz (Toulouse), Sofiane Guitoune (Perpignan), Brice Dulin (Castres), Yoann Huget (Toulouse)