As feared Wesley Fofana has failed in his race to be fit for France’s opening World Cup game versus Italy at Twickenham on Saturday.
The same team that beat Scotland 19-16 earlier this month has been retained, with just two exceptions: Yoann Maestri has recovered from his rib injury and resumes his place in the second row alongside Pascal Pape. And the injured Wesley Fofana is replaced in the centre by Alexandre Dumoulin. Otherwise, Philippe Saint-André has stuck to his guns, with Thierry Dusautoir captaining the team as per usual.
Meanwhile Italy have been dealt a heavy blow with their talisman Sergio Parisse ruled out for Saturday’s game. Samuela Vunisa shifts to number eight, the Fijian-born forward has eight caps to his name. Parisse has been given more time to recover from having fluid drained from his leg following their final warm-up game against Wales with coach Jacques Brunel saying he is still unsure of how long he will have to plan without him.
Leonardo Ghiraldini will captain Italy in Parisse’s absence.
“The main responsibility for the number eight comes in the scrum and France’s scrum is one of the strongest around,” Brunel told a news conference on Thursday. The loss of talisman Parisse is a big blow to the Italians but Brunel said his side must step up. “We have to respond as a squad and the other players have to fulfill their roles, not just the experienced players, but everyone,” he said. “Our halfbacks are young and while they still have to develop, this is a chance to show their quality.”
France: Scott Spedding; Yoann Huget, Mathieu Bastareaud, Alexandre Dumoulin, Noa Nakaitaci; Frederic Michalak, Sebastian Tillous-Borde; Eddy Ben Arous, Guilhem Guirado, Rabah Slimani; Pascal Pape, Yoann Maestri; Thierry Dusautoir (capt), Damien Chouly, Louis Picamoles.
Replacements: Kayser, Debaty, Mas, Le Roux, Flanquart, Parra, Talès, Fickou
Italy: Luke McLean; Leonardo Sarto, Michele Campagnaro, Michele Campagnaro, Andrea Masi, Giovanbattista Venditti; Tommaso Allan, Edoardo Gori; Matias Aguero, Leonardo Ghiraldini (captain), Martin Castrogiovanni; Quintin Geldenhuys, Josh Furno; Alessandro Zanni, Francesco Minto, Samuela Vunisa.
Replacements: Andrea Manici, Michele Rizzo, Lorenzo Cittadini, Valerio Bernabo, Simone Favaro, Guglielmo Palazzani, Carlo Canna, Enrico Bacchin.
