International: Julien Dupuy's ban opens door for Frédéric Michalak and Dimitri Yachvili

By Colin Spiro, 23 December 2009

Julien Dupuy's 24-week ban for eye-gouging has opened up a separate debate in France about who will replace him in the national team for this season's Six Nations championship.

Dupuy had only recently established himself as Marc Lièvremont's first-choice scrum-half - starting there against both South Africa and New Zealand in the November internationals - but his unavailability over the next six months has now opened the door to other potential candidates.

Clermont's Morgan Parra is currently Dupuy's No 2 for 'Les Bleus', but two more experienced internationals shone during the weekend's Heineken Cup action, with Biarritz's Dimitri Yachvili and Stade Toulousain's Frédéric Michalak both putting in headline grabbing performances.

Yachvili scored two tries (and 23 of Biarritz's 26 points) against the Dragons, and has been in splendid form this season since recovering from a badly cut foot which forced him to miss the start of the campaign. The 29-year-old already has 40 caps to his name and was also part of France's summer tour to New Zealand and Australia after Parra was forced out with a shoulder injury.

The case for Michalak - who scored 18 points against Cardiff Blues and was equally as influential as Yachvili - is perhaps more intriguing. The 27-year-old has played most of his career at fly-half, but was outstanding as scrum-half on Saturday - the position Lièvremont believes he is best suited to.

Versatility can be a double-edged sword in sport, with some coaches welcoming players who can operate in several positions, while others shy away in the belief that an individual needs to specialise in just one area. One of the problems for Michalak - apart from an infuriating inconsistency - is the fact he can't even guarantee his starting position at club level. Former All Black scrum-half Byron Kelleher is generally preferred as Stade's starting No 9 when fit by coach Guy Noves, while Jean-Baptiste Elissalde (like Michalak) can operate at either scrum or fly-half.

The return to fitness of fly-half David Skrela has now further clouded Stade's pecking order, leaving Michalak, Kelleher and Elissalde to battle it out for selection. The latter two were both unavailable at the weekend due to injury, giving Michalak the chance to shine, but it will be fascinating to see who now gets the starting slot when all four are fit for selection.

There's no doubt Lièvremont would prefer Michalak - who has clocked up 50 caps - to be playing regularly at scrum-half as the French coach believes the Stade star is too lightweight at fly-half. Yet, even when Michalak left Toulouse for a year with the Natal Sharks in South Africa he still played at No 10. Indeed, he was called up by France as fly-half cover for the November internationals but failed to make the match-day squad in any of the games, leaving the player disappointed and confused by his treatment.

Lièvremont's wariness of Michalak's sometimes mercurial talent is reciprocated throughout France, where the player tends to divide opinion. Some believe him to be a luxury player at international level, others describe him as flaky. Yet here is a player who has notched up more than 800 appearances for the most successful club in Europe, and was also a shining light as the Sharks won last season's Currie Cup in South Africa.

Yachvili, meanwhile, told Midi Olympique that he was delighted to be back in the international reckoning, although he hoped it was on merit. "If I am selected I want it to be because of my performance, not due to the suspension of Julien Dupuy," he explained.

There is, of course, still plenty of time before Lièvremont has to make his decision and much could happen in the intervening period - but Yachvili and Michalak wasted no time in pushing their own cases at the weekend as the veteran internationals staked their early claims for inclusion.

International coaches tend to take note of high-profile performances in the Heineken Cup, and the French pair's timing could prove prescient if they can reproduce similar quality in January's final two rounds - just before the start of the Six Nations.

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