Marc Lièvremont is proving to be a hard man to please. Despite his new-look team’s impressive win in Scotland last Sunday, the France coach has made six changes in personnel for Ireland’s visit to Paris on Saturday. He was also forced, for the second week running, to change his selected XV, with Vincent Clerc, who scored two tries at Murrayfield but was dropped to the bench, reinstated after Julien Malzieu, who was to switch wings to accommodate Aur?lien Rougerie, pulled out with a thigh strain.
François Trinh-Duc, the fly half, is replaced by David Skrela, while William Servat, the hooker, Julien Brugnaut, the prop, and Loïc Jacquet, the lock, are demoted to the bench. Dimitri Szarzewski, Nicolas Mas and Arnaud Mela take their places and, with Elvis Vermeulen, the No8, out of the tournament with a broken rib, Julien Bonnaire returns. “It is logical to see everyone in the heat of battle,” Lièvremont said.
France (to play Ireland at the Stade de France on Saturday): C Heymans (Toulouse); A Rougerie (Clermont Auvergne), D Marty (Perpignan), D Traille (Biarritz), V Clerc (Toulouse); D Skrela (Stade Français), J-BElissalde (Toulouse); N Mas (Perpignan), D Szarzewski (Stade Français), L Faure (Sale Sharks), AMela (Albi), LNallet (Castres, captain), F Ouedraogo (Montpellier), TDusautoir (Toulouse), JBonnaire (Clermont Auvergne). Replacements: W Servat (Toulouse), J Brugnaut (Dax), L Jacquet (Clermont Auvergne), LPicamoles (Montpellier), MParra (Bourgoin), FTrinh-Duc (Montpellier), A Floch (Clermont Auvergne).