France bring in Arthur Vincent for injured Teddy Thomas

Colin Newboult
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France's Arthur Vincent during the Guinness Six Nations match at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff.

France's Arthur Vincent during the Guinness Six Nations match at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff.

France head coach Fabien Galthie has largely kept faith with the side that dominated Wales last weekend as they look to claim the Six Nations title.

Arthur Vincent is the only alteration to the XV as the centre comes in for the injured Teddy Thomas. The Montpellier player starts alongside Virimi Vakatawa in the midfield with Gael Fickou shifting to the wing.

Les Bleus remain unchanged elsewhere, allowing Bernard le Roux to partner Paul Willemse at lock after seeing his citing dismissed by an independent panel on Tuesday.

Arthur Retiere on the bench

On the bench, there is just one change as Arthur Retiere is promoted to the 23-man squad following Vincent’s elevation to the starting line-up.

Retiere, who has impressed at La Rochelle over the past couple of years, is in line to make his debut and can play in a number of positions.

France: 15 Anthony Bouthier, 14 Vincent Rattez, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Arthur Vincent, 11 Gaël Fickou, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Grégory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon (c), 6 François Cros, 5 Paul Willemse, 4 Bernard le Roux, 3 Mohamed Haouas, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Romain Taofifénua, 20 Dylan Cretin, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Arthur Retiere, 23 Thomas Ramos

Date: Saturday, October 31
Venue: Stade de France
Kick-off: 21:05 local (20:05 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO: Luke Pearce (England)

France