France call in young lock

France have called up Stade Français lock Alexandre Flanquart as they prepare for Saturday's Six Nations clash with Scotland.

France have called in 23-year-old Stade Français lock Alexandre Flanquart to help them prepare for Saturday's final Six Nations clash with Scotland.

French coach Philippe Saint-Andr̩ and his assistants Yannick Bru and Patrice Lagisquet have named an unchanged squad but Toulouse lock Yoann Maestri has an injured shoulder and will not be able to train before Friday, necessitating the need for a reinforcement Рin the form of Flanquart Рto allow the squad to prepare.

“Yoann is uncertain until Thursday, but hopefully we'll have him at 100 percent for this weekend,” said Saint-André.

“We have the reinforcement of the young Alexander Flanquart in order to prepare for the final game in good conditions.

“Luckily, there are no Top 14 matches this weekend because it would be disadvantageous for us to have to choose today between Yoann and a permanent replacement.

“We can bring in and an up-and-coming player in the position to train with us.

“It's a win-win for him and us. He'll work, learn and practice the highest level. And Friday we'll decide about Yoann, but in any case Alexander will work with us throughout the week. ”

France squad:

Forwards (13): Vincent Debaty, Thomas Domingo, Benjamin Kayser, Guilhem Guirado, Luc Ducalcon, Nicolas Mas, Yoann Maestri, Christophe Samson, Yannick Nyanga, Thierry Dusautoir, Antonie Claassen, Louis Picamoles, Sébastien Vahaamahina.

Backs (10): Maxime Machenaud, Morgan Parra, Frédéric Michalak, François Trinh-Duc, Mathieu Bastareaud, Wesley Fofana, Florian Fritz, Yoann Huget, Vincent Clerc, Maxime Médard.