French coach Philippe Saint-Andre has recalled Julien Bonnaire and Clement Poitrenaud to his XV for the rearranged game against Ireland on Sunday.
Les Bleus did just about enough to see off Scotland last week but Saint-Andre has made just two changes, one of which was enforced. Maxime Medard suffered a knee injury in the 23-17 win over the Scots so in comes Poitrenaud at full-back.
The other switch is a bit more interesting, with Louis Picamoles demoted to the bench, with Bonnaire going to flanker and Imanol Harinordoquy moving to number eight.
Speaking about the switches in his back row, Saint-Andre explained his reasons were around the need for his back three to be more attacking, a worrying sign for Ireland perhaps.
“Julien [Bonnaire] has helped us greatly with his movement, Saint-Andre told l’Equipe. “The discussion was whether he or Imanol [Harinodoquy] should play at number 8. We chose Imanol to bring us greater security in contact at the start of the match.”
On Picamoles Saint-André said: “Louis [Picamoles] has been at a high level defensively, but he has lacked something in attack. He’s not been effective in the attack zones. We want to see him with the ball in his hands more.”
The rest of the French team, and the replacements, remain the same.
Will Declan Kidney adjust his team accordingly? Highly, highly unlikely but we will know later today when he reveals his team at lunchtime. We will bring you all the details here as soon as we get them.
France team to play Ireland: C Poitrenaud; V Clerc, A Rougerie, W Fofana, J Malzieu; F Trinh-Duc, M Parra; J-B Poux, D Szarzewski, N Mas; P Pape, Y Maestri; T Dusautoir, J Bonnaire, I Harinordoquy
Replacements: W Servat, V Debaty, L Nallet, L Picamoles, J Dupuy, L Beauxis, M Mermoz
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