France’s Matthieu Jalibert will start at outhalf against England in the Six Nations at Twickenham on Saturday (kick-off 4.45pm) in place of the suspended Romain Ntamack.
France head coach Fabien Galthie named his team on Thursday, making two changes from the team that beat Wales in the opening game last Friday.
Jalibert asked to be sent back to his Bordeaux club when he found out he was second in the pecking order for the 10 jersey during last November’s autumn series but Galthie did not hold it against the 26-year-old.
“There is no power struggle with the player. The power struggle is on the field, for us,” Galthie told reporters.
“When you make decisions you work on a daily basis on the players' form and the possible pairings. When we saw Ntamack picked up a red card we started to work with the staff right away and Matthieu Jalibert was the obvious choice. He was always eligible.
“We felt he needed some air to regenerate. Our proposal was for him to get out of this closed-door environment to regenerate but we stayed in contact with him and his club.”
Ntamack picked up a yellow card for a shoulder-to-head tackle on Ben Thomas late in France’s 43-0 first round drubbing of Wales, which was upgraded to a red card following a review.
The disciplinary committee determined that the mid-range entry point of six weeks/matches was appropriate but reduced it to three after the player accepted he committed an act of foul play, along with Ntamack’s exemplary disciplinary record.
Damian Penaud, who missed the Wales game with a toe injury, will start on the wing.
FRANCE (v England): T Ramos; D Penaud, P Barassi, Y Moefana, L Bielle-Biarrey; M Jalibert, A Dupont (capt); J Baptiste Gros, P Mauvaka, U Atonio; A Roumat, E Meafou; F Cros, P Boudehent, G Alldritt.
Replacements: J Marchand, C Baille, G Colombe, H Auradou, M Guillard, O Jegou, N Le Garrec, E Gailleton.
