Veteran full back Jean Luc Sadourny will make his first appearance for France in over a year in Marseille today against the All Blacks after winger David Bory failed to recover from a right thigh injury. The 34-year-old, who made his debut for France in 1991 and will be winning his 68th cap, comes in at full back as predecessor Xavier Garbajosa has been moved to replace Bory on the wing.
The player called in to replace Sadourny on the bench will be 25-year-old Dax winger Mathieu Dourthe.
Almost a year since Bernard Laporte took over the team from the flair-filled but unpredictable duo of Jean-Claude Skrela and Pierre Villepreux his vow to produce a consistent side seems a long way from being fulfilled and defeat to the All Blacks today could place his future in doubt.
The former Begles-Bordeaux scrum-half never played for France but turned Stade Francais into a championship winning side out of nothing when he became coach.
Laporte has gone back to his roots in filling the pack with six Stade Francais players including their best scrummager from last Saturday, South African-born prop Pieter de Villiers - whose Huguenot ancestors emigrated from France to South Africa at the beginning of the 18th century.
Experienced winger Philippe Saint-Andre, who has scored tries in his two matches against the All Blacks, also starts after Thomas Lombard was forced out through injury and with opposite number Jonah Lomu gone home for surgery on his fractured zygomatic arch, he should have freer rein to attack.
The All Black front row - which is inexperienced apart from hooker Anton Oliver - suffered a terrible last 20 minutes once de Villiers was introduced in the first Test and reinforced the refrain from the French about their lack of knowledge about prop Greg Somerville.
However, the All Blacks backs looked a superior force last weekend and once they were allowed the rare freedom to run by whistle happy Australian referee Wayne Erickson tore the French apart.
Judging by Smith's observations that the traditionally windy Stade Velodrome will affect the kicking of recordman Andrew Mehrtens the French could well be in for a backs to the wall performance which would have been more appropriate in last Saturday's Armistice Day match-up.
FRANCE: J L Sadourny (Colomiers); P Bernat-Salles (Biarritz), F Comba (Stade Francais), R Dourthe (Beziers), X Garbajosa (Toulouse); C Lamaison (Agen), F Galthie (Colomiers); O Magne (Montferrand), C Juillet (Stade Francais), C Moni (Stade Francais); F Pelous (Toulouse, capt), D Auradou (Stade Francais); P De Villiers (Stade Francais), F Landreau (Stade Francais), S Marconnet (Stade Francais). Replacements: O Azam (Gloucester), C Califano (Toulouse), O Brouzet (Northampton), S Betsen (Biarritz), P Carbonneau (Pau), Y Delaigue (Toulouse), M Dourthe (Dax)
NEW ZEALAND: C Cullen (Wellington); D Howlett (Auckland), T Umaga (Wellington), D Gibson (Canterbury), B Reihana (Waikato); A Mehrtens (Canterbury), J Marshall (Canterbury); R Cribb (North Harbour), S Robertson (Canterbury), R Thorne (Canterbury); N Maxwell (Canterbury), T Blackadder (Canterbury, capt); G Somerville (Canterbury), A Oliver (Otago), G Feek (Canterbury). Replacements: M Hammett (Canterbury), G Slater (Taranaki), T Flavell (North Harbour), T Randell (Otago), B Kelleher (Otago), C Spencer (Auckland), P Alatini (Otago).
