France select three debutants for Wales clash including mammoth Australian second-row

France have made several changes for their encounter with Wales on Sunday, with three players set for their Test debuts.

Most of those have been forced by injury and suspension. Two of the newbies are in the backline with Leo Barre starting at full-back and Nicolas Depoortere coming in at centre.

An injury to Matthieu Jalibert means that Thomas Ramos shifts to fly-half, allowing Barre to take his place in the back three, while Depoortere is alongside Gael Fickou in the midfield following Jonathan Danty’s ban.

Final debutant

Up front, there is the gargantuan presence of New Zealand-born, Australia raised Emmanuel Meafou, who finally makes his France debut after missing the first three games through injury. He partners the fit-again Thibaud Flament in the second-row.

Meanwhile, Les Bleus are boosted by the return of Gregory Alldritt, with the player taking his place at number eight and Francois Cros moving back to flanker.

Charles Ollivon retains his place at seven to complete the loose trio, which means that Paul Boudehent drops to the bench for their Six Nations match with Wales.

The pack is then finished off by props Uini Atonio and Cyril Baille, as well as hooker Julien Marchand, who is selected ahead of Peato Mauvaka.

He is one of the few straight selection calls with the other one being Nolann Le Garrec. The youngster gets in ahead of Maxime Lucu after the experienced scrum-half struggled in the first three matches.

Finally, Louis Bielle-Biarrey comes back into the XV after withdrawing ahead of the Italy encounter in Round Three.

On the bench, tighthead prop Georges-Henri Colombe could be a fourth debutant on Sunday and he is joined by Mauvaka, Sebastien Taofifenua, Romain Taofifenua, Alexandre Roumat and Boudehent as the forward replacements.

France have once again gone for a 6-2 split with Lucu and Yoram Moefana covering the backline.

France team to take on Wales

France: 15 Leo Barre, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Nicolas Depoortere, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Nolann Le Garrec, 8 Gregory Alldritt (c), 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 François Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Sebastien Taofifenua, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Alexandre Roumat, 21 Paul Boudehent, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Yoram Moefana

Date: Sunday, March 10
Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Damian Schneider (Argentina)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)

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