Marc Lievremont, the new French coach, says he expects his experimental side to make mistakes ahead of their RBS Six Nations clash with Scotland on Sunday.
A wave of disappointment swept French rugby following their disappointing semi-final exit from last Autumn’s World Cup. But after being beaten on home soil by England in the semi-finals, French rugby has decided to wipe the slate clean.
Risks and initiative have been Lievremont’s motto since he took over from Bernard Laporte, now junior minister for Sport, and that has been reflected in his first French squad.
The former international flanker has appointed unsung lock Lionel Nallet as captain and named four uncapped players, including 21-year-old Francois Trinh-Duc at fly-half, in his starting XV. David Marty, the Perpignan centre, will replace the injured Florian Fritz at centre after he fractured his lower leg in training on Wednesday.
Following the international retirement of Serge Betsen and Christophe Dominici as well as former captains Raphael Ibanez and Fabien Pelous the team will boast just 241 caps between them, an average of 16 per man.
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“We told the players we wanted them to take risks, initiatives, we told them they had a right to make mistakes. You can’t expect a 21-year-old fly-half to be perfect. He will make mistakes and we accept that,” Lievremont said.
However, Jo Maso, the team’s manager, said the new playing style might take time to bed in. “All these kids form a team full of life. We are setting off on a big adventure, at full throttle with a lot of desire and enthusiasm,” he said.
“A week and four training sessions will not be enough. We face a difficult game on Sunday.”
A trip to Murrayfield holds no fears for the French who have won four of their last five games in the Scottish capital. However the Scots won the fixture in 2006 and Frank Hadden will be hoping to repeat that 20-16 victory.
The Scottish squad has a more familiar look, but Hadden surprised many by dropping Chris Paterson, who had a 100 per cent goalkicking record at last year’s Six Nations and World Cup.
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Hadden has also handed centre Nick De Luca his first cap while flanker John Barclay will start his first Six Nations match. “We have more strength in depth than I can remember but forecasting what will happen is very difficult in this competition”, Hadden said.
Jason White, the Scotland captain, said his men were ready to make up for the disappointment of last season’s Six Nations campaign and their World Cup quarter-final defeat to Argentina.
“This championship is a chance for us to show that we have learned a few lessons from the World Cup. There is definitely a feeling of optimism in the camp,” he said.