France have been boosted by the return of Cyril Baille and Jonathan Danty for Thursday’s Rugby World Cup Pool A clash against Namibia in Marseille.
Head coach Fabien Galthie has made 12 changes to his starting XV from the side that defeated Uruguay in their second match of the tournament, with Antoine Dupont returning to captain the side.
11 Changes to the starting XV
Loosehead prop Baille marks his return from injury after last featuring for Les Bleus in last month’s Rugby World Cup warm-up clash against Scotland, where he picked up an injury that threatened to end his participation at the global showpiece.
Alas, he has recovered in time for the tournament and features in an all-new front-row with Peato Mauvaka at hooker – as Julien Marchand is still sidelined – and Uini Atonio at tighthead prop.
Cameron Woki is one of the three players to retain his starting role, but he has a new lock partner this week as Thibaud Flament switches places with Romain Taofifenua, the latter starting from the bench after escaping punishment for his dangerous tackle on Uruguay’s Santiago Arata.
After marking his return from a long-term injury by captain France against Uruguay, Anthony Jelonch is also retained in the starting XV but is now joined by François Cros at six and Charles Ollivon at seven.
Dupont and Matthieu Jalibert return as the starting halfbacks, with Maxime Lucu and Antoine Hastoy dropped from the 23 entirely.
The other big injury return occurs in the centres as Jonathan Danty comes into the starting XV alongside Gael Fickou. Yoram Moefana drops to the bench.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey is the final player to retain a starting position as he shifts from the right wing to start on the left, with Damian Penaud taking the number 14 jumper and Thomas Ramos returning at fullback.
Galthie has opted for a 5-3 split in favour of the forwards on the bench. Pierre Bourgarit, Reda Wardi and Dorian Aldegheri provide front-row cover, with Taofifenua and Paul Boudehent rounding out the forward replacements.
Scrum-half Baptiste Couilloud is joined by fellow backs Moefana and Melvyn Jaminet.
Les bleus team v Namibia
France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Anthony Jelonch, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 François Cros, 5 Thibaud Flament, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Pierre Bourgarit, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Paul Boudehent, 21 Baptiste Couilloud, 22 Yoram Moefana, 23 Melvyn Jaminet
Date: Thursday, September 21
Venue: Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 BST, 19:00 GMT)
Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (IRFU), Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Joy Neville (IRFU)
READ MORE: Rugby World Cup Team of the Week: Springboks and Fiji lead the inclusions
The article France star duo return as STACKED XV named for Namibia World Cup clash appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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