Diluted French opt for depth
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:09
Marc Lievremont has embarked on some dynamic changes to his squad for the second Test against Australia in Brisbane, after their 34-13 defeat last Saturday.
France coach Lievremont responded to the heavy defeat at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney by making no fewer than seven changes to his starting line-up, as well as re-shuffling his bench.
Outside centre Maxime Mermoz and loosehead prop Pierre Correia have both been selected for their first Test appearance after failing to make the 22-man squad last week.
Another five players from last weekend's bench - inside centre Thibault Lacroix, wing David Janin, scrumhalf Sebastian Tillous-Borde, flank Matthieu Lievremont and prop Renaud Boyoud - have been promoted to the starting line-up after making their Test debuts in Sydney.
Five of last week's starting fifteen have in turn been relegated to the reserve bench, while Lievremont added two new replacement caps - flank Yannick Caballero and wing Jean-Baptiste Peyras.
Lievremont was forced to pick a diluted squad for their inbound tour as most of the country's top players were involved in the Top 14 play-offs and unavailable for the international side.
Lievremont however wanted to use this opportunity to allow his emerging players to get some Test experience and show their worth.
France: 15 Benjamin Thiéry, 14 Alexis Palisson, 13 Maxime Mermoz, 12 Thibault Lacroix, 11 David Janin, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 6 Matthieu Lièvremont, 5 Lionel Nallet (captain), 4 Sebastien Chabal, 3 Renaud Boyoud, 2 Sebastien Bruno, 1 Pierre Correia.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Benoit Lecouls, 18 David Couzinet, 19 Louis Picamoles 20 Yannick Caballero, 21 Dimitri Yachvili, 22 Jean-Baptiste Peyras.
Date: Saturday, July 5
Venue: Suncorp Stadium,
Brisbane
Kick-off: 20.05 (10.05 GMT)
Referee: TBC
