France beat Ireland 26-22 the last time the sides met, at the Aviva for a World Cup warm-up last August. (c) Ross Wynne.
France coach Philippe Saint-André has made four changes to the team that beat Italy 30-12 in the opening game of this year’s Six Nations. All four changes come in the pack, with 24-year-old second-row Yoann Maestri set to make his first start. The 6’6″ Toulouse man adds plenty of beef to the pack with his 119kg frame.
Elsewhere, Maestri’s teammate Jean-Baptiste Poux takes over from Vincent Debaty at loosehead while Dimitri Szarzewski is preferred to William Servat at hooker. The final change sees Imanol Harinordoquy come in at openside in place of Julien Bonnaire. All four players who have been dropped from the starting fifteen remain in the match day 22.
France team to face Ireland
1. Jean-Baptiste Poux (Toulouse)
2. Dimitri Szarzewski (Stade Francais)
3. Nicolas Mas (Perpignan)
4. Pascal Papé (Stade Francais)
5. Yoann Maestri (Toulouse)
6. Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse, capt.)
7. Imanol Harinordoquy (Biarritz)
8. Louis Picamoles (Toulouse)
9. Dimitri Yachvili (Biarritz)
10. François Trinh-Duc (Montpellier)
11. Julien Malzieu (Clermont)
12. Wesley Fofana (Clermont)
13. Aurélien Rougerie (Clermont)
14. Vincent Clerc (Toulouse)
15. Maxime Médard (Toulouse)
Subs
16. William Servat (Toulouse), 17. Vincent Debaty (Clermont), 18. Lionel Nallet (Racing), 19. Julien Bonnaire (Clermont), 20. Morgan Parra (Clermont), 21. Lionel Beauxis (Toulouse), 22. Maxime Mermoz (Perpignan).
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Photo courtesy: Ross Wynne.
The Touchline 