France head coach Marc
Lièvremont has been forced to call up reinforcements after
Lionel Beauxis and Maxime Mermoz pulled out of Friday's Six
Nations clash with Wales.
The under-pressure coach was
heavily criticised for only including one fly-half in his
original Championship squad, and now that decision has come
back to haunt him.
But, instead of recalling the
experienced Toulouse No 10 David Skrela - who was so
impressive against Clermont at the weekend - he has opted
for Montpellier's 22-year-old Francois Trinh-Duc.
Lièvremont also went with youth
for Mermoz's replacement, plumping - if that is the right
word - for bulky Stade Francais centre Mathieu Bastareaud.
The 20-year-old man-mountain
has been a regular starter of late for the Paris outfit but
has yet to make his international debut.
He scored his fourth league try
of the season against Toulon on Friday night, and at 111kg
weighs in at a level more befitting a prop.
Perpignan's Mermoz has been
sidelined by a muscle tear in his right calf, and with
Florian Fritz still suspended Lièvremont has chosen to
include Bastareaud.
Beauxis, much to the coach's
chagrin, has not recovered from a hip injury he picked
during the Stade Francais-Toulon game on Friday night.
Trinh-Duc, who has seven caps,
made his international debut during last year's Six Nations
and is seen as more of a running threat than Skrela -
hinting at France's likely approach to the Championship
showdown with Wales.
Elsewhere, Lièvremont has
angered Stade Toulousain coach Guy Noves by excluding prop
Benoit Lecouls on medical grounds, despite the front-row
international playing a full part in Sunday's Top 14 victory
over Clermont.
"He is not available because
the medical staff of the French team set him aside, and feel
that for health reasons he can't play rugby," said Noves.
"On the other hand, he is available at Stade Toulousain," he
added.
Lecouls was equally
unimpressed. "When I'm treated by competent people there are
no worries," he observed. "The staff of the French national
team say that I'm not fit to play, but the people who know
me know how I function, and there is no risk. Everything is
fine. I'm in the same state as I was ten years ago," he
added.
But Lièvremont clearly remains
unconvinced and has instead recalled veteran Stade Francais
prop Sylvain Marconnet after a two-year absence.
Marconnet, capped 71 times,
initially faded from the international scene after breaking
his leg while on a family skiing holiday in the midst of the
2007 Six Nations.
Coincidentally, his last game
for France was their 32-21 victory over Wales at the Stade
de France in 2007.
The 32-year-old said his recall
had come as something of a surprise, but that he was
determined to make the most of it.
"I asked myself at one point
whether I was ever going to get back into the France team. I
am appreciating every moment, though the joy at being back
is relative to the one I will feel with victory over the
Welsh," he said.
"I restart with a blank sheet.
Even with my 71 caps I have to wipe that from my mind
totally. I have everything to prove all over again, to start
all over again," he added.
Fellow front-row forward Thomas
Domingo is also in the squad, with Renaud Boyoud dropping
out despite coming on as a sub against Scotland.
Lièvremont is due to name his
starting XV on Wednesday, but Wales coach Warren Gatland has
already unveiled his team - and was delighted to include IRB
World Player of the Year Shane Williams.
The wing wizard missed Wales'
victory over England with an ankle injury, but has been
recalled to the starting XV in place of Mark Jones.
"A fit Shane Williams is a
player any coach would want in their side and so it was a
natural selection," said Gatland.
"France are one of the top
sides in the Championship and they are always going to be
tough opposition, especially at home, and this is a must-win
game for them if they are to keep their title hopes alive."
Gatland has also recalled
controversial centre Gavin Henson - although he will start
on the bench.
The Wales and Ospreys star was
at the centre of a well-publicised drinking session in
Cardiff following the win over England - despite being
absent with a shoulder injury - but Gatland said Henson's
fitness was the sole criteria on which he had been picked.
France squad
Backs: Sebastien Tillous-Borde (Castres); Morgan
Parra (Bourgoin); Francois Trinh-Duc (Montpellier); Benoit
Baby (Clermont); Yannick Jauzion (Toulouse); Mathieu
Bastareaud (Stade Francais); Julien Malzieu (Clermont);
Cedric Heymans (Toulouse); Maxime Medard (Toulouse); Clement
Poitrenaud (Toulouse).
Forwards: Lionel Faure (Sale); Fabien Barcella
(Biarritz); Dimitri Szarzewski (Stade Francais); Benjamin
Kayser (Leicester); Sylvain Marconnet (Stade Francais);
Thomas Domingo (Clermont); Lionel Nallet (Castres, capt);
Sebastien Chabal (Sale); Romain Millo-Chluski (Toulouse);
Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse); Imanol Harinordoquy
(Biarritz); Fulgence Ouedraogo (Montpellier); Louis
Picamoles (Montpellier).
Wales XV: Lee Byrne;
Leigh Halfpenny; Tom Shanklin; Jamie Roberts; Shane
Williams; Stephen Jones; Michael Phillips; Gethin Jenkins;
Matthew Rees; Adam Jones; Ian Gough; Alun Wyn Jones; Ryan
Jones (capt); Martyn Williams; Andy Powell.
Subs: Huw Bennett; John Yapp; Luke Charteris; Dafydd
Jones; Dwayne Peel; James Hook; Gavin Henson.
