Inside centre: Wesley Fofana
France coach Philippe Saint-André has made seven changes and one positional change to his starting XV to face England at Twickenham.
Wesley Fofana is moved from the wing to partner Mathieu Bastareaud in the centre, with Vincent Clerc taking his place on the right wing after being recalled.
Morgan Parra and Francois Trinh-Duc will form a new half-back pairing, with Frederic Michalak and Maxime Machaneaud named on the bench.
In the forwards, Thomas Domingo and Benjamin Kayser will form a new-look front row alongside Nicolas Mas, with Christophe Samson coming in at second row to replace Jocelino Suta who is amongst the replacements.
The final change sees Yannick Nyanga form an all-Toulouse back-row alongside club team-mates Thierry Dusautoir, who captains the side, and Louis Picamoles.
South African-born number-eight Antoine Claassen could make his debut from the bench.
France: 15 Yoann Huget, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Benjamin Fall, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Jocelino Suta, 20 Antoine Claassen, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Frederic Michalak, 23 Florian Fritz.
Kick-off: 17:00
Venue: Twickenham
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees: John Lacey (Ireland), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Television match official: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
Comments
sirtidychris says...
Wish we had played france in the first two weeks when PSA was still making crazy selections. Despite the improved team the backline is completley new and hasn't had a chance to play togther at this level this season, England also have huge amounts of confidence and momentum and are a settled team playing at home.
Posted 12:44 21st February 2013
JamieTheProp says...
@ carpelone - not weird choices!
Hartley is by far the superior scrummagers of the two hookers available (which shows a lot of respect for a very, very strong French scrum).
Lawes has played 6 for his club on several occasions - is fast, physical and fit and doesn't mind mixing it.
It is a team picked to fight fire with fire.
Should be a great game - lots of big collisions and action!
Posted 12:40 21st February 2013
cliffguy says...
Come-uppance for a mediocre English side, I fear. Thenm Millennium Horror! only joking!
Posted 12:18 21st February 2013
carpelone says...
Better team, not sure about 2 (I don't know Kayser), 4, 11 and 15.
Never write off France against England, I saw Lancaster made some weird choice (hartley and Lawes at 6!!).
Posted 11:48 21st February 2013
jontheref says...
Well if |England beat France on Saturday, they can start talking of a potential Grand Slam.
As long as France have attitude, they will do well.
ball firmly in Englands corner.
Posted 11:47 21st February 2013
davodiablo says...
Looking forward to this one even more . What with this game , the proper start to Super rugby and ref cam there's lots to look forward to this weekend.
Posted 11:26 21st February 2013
99call says...
That looks a far more balanced side, if Fofana can get Bastareaud running into some space then the english defence will be in trouble but they better hope they dont get any early injuries or theyll be back to the same rubbish they put out in the last 2 games
Its the perverbial sh!t or bust for france they have to go for it or i think the french public will close the border and le chunnel to the team if they lose
Heres hoping for a classic
Posted 11:01 21st February 2013
Haldir says...
Oh dear... FTD and Fofana in the right place. The French look far better, and never play three bad games in a row. France by 8, unfortunately.
Posted 10:41 21st February 2013
pierredelot1 says...
Dear oh dear whats he up to, selecting Fofana in the right position. Playing a proper 10, things are looking up especially with Parra at nine.Huget a great attacker but not a tackling defensive fullback by any means. Not sure about the balance of the back row, Picamoles is a real threat, but Dusauttoir is not yet back to what he was. Nyanga, great player and with real pace but is going to have to tackle his heart out against bigger guys, they are going to be working hard. For me it's the front five that will settle this and I have real doubts about the quality of the French second row, will they be willing to graft away, putting down all those England ball carriers. If they do they have a chance, but this England unit is fairly settled now and these guys have to get it together and away from home, the latter always a bit of a long shot. Hope its a really good game, should be.
Posted 10:30 21st February 2013
lorenz78 says...
I believe the backline makes a lot more sense now. I still wonder what is Maxime Medard current form, I thought I heard he was back in the squad. Before a long injury he definitely looked as a great fullback.
Parra is too good not to start him, while I am not really sold about Trinh-Duc at fly-half.
I am quite sure the French will not look as the wooden spoon candidates
Posted 10:29 21st February 2013
welshmac says...
apart from Huget I think this is team the french public wanted. Let's see if they can deliver. ESPN classic is playing ENG-FRA games from '92 and '95 to get you in the mood.
Posted 10:27 21st February 2013
heathy says...
This is an interesting article. Planning. Why do we trust Stuart Lancaster so much? It is because he has a plan and a plan that we all can see.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/9884369/Six-Nations-2013-England-coach-Stuart-Lancaster-reaping-rewards-of-long-term-thinking-in-latest-campaign.html
Posted 10:26 21st February 2013
melkdave says...
Looks a far better and more balanced side by a long way .This is going going to be one of those Le CRUNCH matches,hopefully a cracker to watch as well.
Posted 10:17 21st February 2013
Axax says...
It is definitely a much better looking side BUT: who is going to replace Clerc/Huget/Full if any of them is getting injured?
I really don't get the logic behind it, honestly. In the case Clerc get injured, I am assuming the (very loose) plan would be: Fofana back on his cherished wing, Fritz at centre. But this approach looks so amateurish in many ways.
Anyway, one step at a time, don't be too quick you could break your legs. French supporters have to be very patient... *sigh*
Posted 10:08 21st February 2013
kybone says...
Much better looking France team there. Its that kind of lineup that puts them amongst the worlds best. I don't think France will play anything like they did in the first two games. England will have to be at their very best!
Posted 09:59 21st February 2013
Chubbylugs says...
That's an awesome backrow
Posted 09:49 21st February 2013
Rosbif says...
Finally, starting to look like a team, though still no real 15 on the field or on the bench. I have my doubts on the fitness of Dusautoir and Clerc, while Picamoles and Maestri have been overplayed by ST so have lost their sting. Will be interesting to see if the backline functions. Hope FTD goes well. He's had to sit on the bench and watch the Freddie show for a good few games now.....
Predictions?
France to get two yellow cards. Farrel to kick 20+ points, half from scrum or breakdown penalties. England always ahead on the scoreboard. France line-out to misfire and with it their territory/kicking game, forcing them to run everything and chase the game, becoming ever more predictable and tired in attack. Freddie to come on with 20 to go to "save" the match. England to score two tries in the last quarter from intercepting his wayward passes..... England 35-France 15
Or.
France to score an early try somewhat against the run of play. Joubert interprets scrum penalties in their favour. France drive a few mauls from lineouts. And get a few well-contested contested breakdown decisions in England's 22. Parra to keep scoreboard ticking over. France take re-starts effectively and don't play any rugby in their half. Defence keeps England try-less and Joubert doesn't give Farrel more than 4/5 shots at goal. England 15-France 18
We should know the script after the first 20 minutes or so.....
ALLEZ!!
Posted 09:28 21st February 2013
heathy says...
I have to say that this looks like a far more balanced side. I was hoping they would stick to the same old, same old and then everybody would feel under pressure and not be comfortable in their position. PSA has seemed to pick the side that he should have been picking at the start. I just hope that the players coming in are a bit rusty. If they aren't and they click straight away, we could be in for an interesting afternoon. There has been lots of talk about not writing the French off etc and I really do hope the boys beleive that. We desperately need a good start and not let the French get their tails up. Look what happened in the World Cup!! We have generally done well at Twickenham of late so that has put the 'kiss of death' on that one. This is the important one for me. I thought we had the beating of Ireland before the game but with the French? Well, you just don't know how brilliant or dreadful they can be. We are set to make a few changes with Tuilagi and Hartley back. There is even talk of Lawes in the back row!!!! Jeeps, bold move and I hope it pays off.
Posted 09:23 21st February 2013
Frooschman says...
Oh game on baby! I think my punt on this match has just come way in. Much better looking team. Far more balanced. Squad confidence must be low but England at Twickenham will be a kitchen sink affair. England by 5-10?
Posted 09:21 21st February 2013
Chinstan says...
Bugger! S-A has finally seen sense, we are in for a very tough day at the office! That is a very very strong team.
Posted 09:21 21st February 2013