Meet France's new faces
Marc Lièvremont is nothing if not consistent. He consistently changes! France's coach has added five new players to his ever growing pool of resources, three of whom have made his starting XV for their Six Nations match against Italy.
Marc Lièvremont is nothing if not consistent. He consistently changes ! France's coach has added five new players to his ever growing pool of resources, three of whom have made his starting XV for their Six Nations match against Italy.
Consistent with Lièvremont's selection policy so far, all five are young and have stood out in the Top 14.
As usual, Lièvremont has spread his new players across the team.
Fabien Barcella from Auch will start in the front row, Montauban's Ibrahim Diarra will start in the back row while Bourgoin's Yann David lines up at outside-centre in the backs.
Montpellier scrum-half Julien Tomas will ride the bench alongside hooker Guilhem Guirado from Perpignan.
“Fabien Barcella has had a dazzling rise,” said Lièvremont.
“Last year he was a replacement in the Pro D2. With regards to what he's shown in the last six months, he's really impressive.
“He's one of the two or three best props in France. He's very explosive, very with good ball in hand, very active and very good in scrums.”
Barcella's new room-mate stands 1,86m tall and weighs 98kg. Ibrahim Diarra, 24, isn't huge for a loose forward, but his personality is larger than life.
The newest member of a French loose trio that can't scrape 10 caps together between them, “Ibou” as his team-mates know him, is the first player from Montauban to be selected for France since 1967
“He was never selected at age-group level. It's refreshing to see that one can uncover talent later on,” said Lièvremont.
“With his club, Montauban, he's proved to be a complete player. He can jump in line-outs, play on his feet, tackle and dig for the ball.”
Lièvremont calls him a “good compromise between Ouedraogo, Dusautoir and Betsen”.
When Diarra speaks he punctuates his sentences with exclamations and fits of laughter. Already a favourite amongst his new team-mates and the press, the flank is living a dream.
His brother, Mamadou, is already an international – he plays for Pau and Senegal.
“I started playing rugby when I was a kid because my brother played,” Diarra told Le Site.
“My first dream was to be a professional and I've done that. The second was to win a French championship, which I did in the Pro D2 with Montauban [in 2006].
“My third was to stay on the professional circuit and be recognised for what I am.
“I never thought I'd make it to this level and it's a real pleasure that the coaches have put their faith in me. I'm a soldier. I listen to the coaches and do what they tell me.”
Yann David is only 19 years old, but at 1,83m and 105kg, he's no lightweight.
His mother is from the French Pacific Island of Wallis-et-Futuna and he has already represented France at age-group level, so he is not unfamiliar with the National Rugby Centre at Marcoussis.
“Despite his age he's impressive in terms of power, speed and aggression,” says Lièvremont who describes the younger centre as being similar in mould to David Marty and Florian Fritz.
“Alongside players like Damien Traille and Yannick Jauzion we're convinced that he'll do marvels. He has stupefying potential for his age.”
David said: “I'm not the type to get stressed and put pressure on myself.
“I won't go so far as to say that [playing at the Stade de France] will be destabilising, but it will definitely have a effect. I'm not used to playing in a stadium like that in front of so many people.
“I'm sharing a room with Julien Malzieu. Everyone is very open and the coaches are very close to the players, it's reassuring.”
Perpignan hooker Guilhem Guirado, who will be on the bench on Sunday, is also no stranger to Marcoussis having won the Under-21 World Cup under current assistant coaches Didier Retière and Emile N'Tamack.
“I know them and what they expect from me, ” said Guirado who has been brought into a pack under loads of scrutiny.
“I watched the France-England game. A scrum isn't just about the front row, it's an eight man setup. I saw the problems against England, especially the problems with the referee.
“I know there are a lot of expectations but I'm not putting any extra pressure on myself.”
Montpellier's scrum-half and captain last week, Julien Tomas, has joined his team-mates Louis Picamoles, Fulgence Ouedraogo and half-back partner François Trinh-Duc, in the camp.
“We work more on technique and movement here compared to our club where we work more on passing and contact situations,” Tomas told Le Site.
“This another dimension that I've never experienced. I find [the atmosphere] gives me more motivation than pressure.
“The youngsters and the older players complement each other well.”