France coach Marc Lievremont will give those who underperformed so badly against England at Twickenham yesterday the chance to redeem themselves against Italy in Rome next weekend.
England’s 34-10 win was the second defeat of the campaign for France but the manner in which it was sustained will be the biggest concern for Lievremont.
His side were 29-0 down at halftime and, though they managed two score tow tries after the break, their performance was littered with errors.
Nevertheless, the coach is confident the same squad can get a result in Rome, despite the Italians’ much improved showing against Wales on Saturday.
France will go with an unchanged squad for their last match in the RBS 6 Nations Championship, against Italy in Rome on Saturday.
“We thought this squad could win at Twickenham and we still think they can win in Rome,” Lievremont said at a debriefing in London this morning.
The only injury doubt appears to be hooker Benjamin Kayser, who is struggling with a neck problem.
The Leicester frontrow forward will undergo tests at France’s training base at Marcoussis today.
France will name on Wednesday their starting XV for the Italy match.
France squad
Backs: Julien Malzieu (Clermont-Auvergne), Damien Traille (Biarritz), Maxime Medard, Cedric Heymans (both Toulouse), Mathieu Bastareaud (Stade Francais), Florian Fritz, Yannick Jauzion (both Toulouse), Francois Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), Morgan Parra (Bourgoin), Sebastien Tillous-Borde (Castres).
Forwards: Sebastien Chabal (Sale), Julien Bonnaire (Clermont-Auvergne), Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse), Imanol Harinordoquy (Biarritz), Louis Picamoles (Montpellier), Lionel Nallet (Castres, capt), Jerome Thion (Biarritz), Benjamin Kayser (Leicester), Dimitri Szarzewski, Sylvain Marconnet (both Stade Francais), Thomas Domingo (Clermont-Auvergne), Fabien Barcella (Biarritz), Lionel Faure (Sale).
