Six Nations:Clement Poitrenaud has been called into the France squad to replace the injured Maxime Medard for next weekend's re-arranged Six Nations showdown with Ireland. Medard suffered a knee injury during Les Bleus' 23-17 win over Scotland yesterday.
Announcing the decision to restore the Toulouse player, head coach Phillipe Saint-Andre said: “He is an obvious choice. There are not many (fullbacks) in our squad. There were one or two options but we have chosen Clement, who will be joining us this afternoon.”
Toulon’s Alexis Palisson was one potential option for Saint-Andre, but was overlooked due to a lack of game time in the position with his club.
“(Palisson) does not play fullback with Toulon. We do not need a winger who can play fullback but a real number 15,” the coach said.
The rest of the French squad is unchanged for the Stade de France clash, which was originally scheduled for February 4th, but postponed just before kick-off due to the freezing conditions and the state of the pitch.
Ireland coach Declan Kidney, who will name his side on Wednesday, has no serious injury concerns after Saturday’s 42-10 win over Italy.
Rob Kearney reported a tight groin during the game and underwent a scan which revealed that there was no significant damage and he is expected to return to training this week, while Gordon D'Arcy took a blow to his shoulder, but showed no ill affects after the game.
Amongst the forwards, prop Cian Healy received a blow to the jaw and will perform modified training this week, while Sean O'Brien is also expected to take some part in training tomorrow after he turned an ankle against France. A precautionary scan showed no damage to the joint.
France squad:David Attoub, Vincent Debaty, Nicolas Mas, Jean-Baptiste Poux, William Servat, Dimitri Szarzewski, Pascal Pape, Yoann Maestri, Lionel Nallet, Julien Bonnaire, Thierry Dusautoir (captain), Louis Picamoles, Imanol Harinordoquy; Morgan Parra, Julien Dupuy, Francois Trinh-Duc, Lionel Beauxis, Aurelien Rougerie, Maxime Mermoz, Wesley Fofana, Vincent Clerc, Julien Malzieu, Clement Poitrenaud
