France change one ahead of clash with Italy
France head coach Fabien Galthie has made one change to his side for their Six Nations clash with Italy, as Arthur Vincent is handed his first start at centre.
Vincent replaces the injured Virimi Vakatawa in the only alteration to their XV that saw off England at the Stade de France last Saturday.
He joins Gael Fickou at centre while Anthony Bouthier continues at 15 in a back three that includes Teddy Thomas and Vincent Rattez.
Last week’s two-try hero Charles Ollivon skippers again from the flank, as he looks to lead Les Bleus to successive 2020 Six Nations wins.
There is a notable change in tactic from France on the bench as coach Galthie opts for six-two split, with Romain Taofifenua’s inclusion bulking up their forward options against the Italians. Baptiste Serin and Matthieu Jalibert make up the backline replacements in Paris.
🇫🇷🇮🇹 LA COMPO DES BLEUS !
💥 Voici les 23 joueurs qui affronteront l'Italie dimanche !
Venez les encourager il reste des places !
🎟️ https://t.co/cF2pMlkZNY#NeFaisonsXV #XVdeFrance #FRAITA pic.twitter.com/XAGKqu0cjM— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) February 7, 2020
France: 15 Anthony Bouthier, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Arthur Vincent, 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Vincent Rattez, 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 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Jefferson Poirot, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Boris Palu, 21 Cameron Woki, 22 Baptiste Serin, 23 Matthieu Jalibert
Date: Sunday, February 9
Venue: Stade de France
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)