France name strong side for Wales clash

David Skippers

France have announced their squad for Saturday’s clash with Wales at the Stade France and head coach Fabien Galthie has picked a strong starting line-up.

The run-on side has a familiar look to it as Galthie has selected the same team which started in a 24-17 victory against England in their Six Nations opener in February.

Captain Ollivon

Charles Ollivon captains the team from the side of the scrum and he is joined in the back-row by fellow flanker François Cros while Grégory Alldritt starts at number eight.

South African-born duo Paul Willemse and Bernard le Roux start in the second-row while Julien Marchand is at hooker and packs down alongside Toulouse team-mate Cyril Baille and Montpellier’s Mohamed Haouas, who are the props.

In the backline, Anthony Bouthier will wear the number 15 jersey and Teddy Thomas and Vincent Rattez are the the two wings, with Gaël Fickou and Virimi Vakatawa forming the centre combination.

Toulouse half-backs Romain Ntamack and Antoine Dupont complete the starting XV while experienced players like Baptiste Serin, Camille Chat, Thomas Ramos and Romain Taofifénua are amongst the replacements.

France: 15 Anthony Bouthier, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Gaël 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 Camille Chat, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Romain Taofifénua, 20 Dylan Cretin, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Arthur Vincent, 23 Thomas Ramos

Date: Saturday, October 24
Venue: Stade de France
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 BST, 19:00 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (IRFU), Ian Tempest (RFU)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)