Rougerie dropped as France make six changes for Wales test

Fly-half David Skrela returns to France squad for trip to Wales
Fly-half David Skrela returns to France squad for trip to Wales
 
 

Monday, 10, Mar 2008 01:09

Head coach Marc Lievremont has made six changes to his France squad for the Six Nations showdown against Wales this Saturday.

Some surprising selections see try-scoring winger Aurelien Rougerie dropped along with young centre Yann David, who impressed in the 25-13 win over Italy in Paris on Sunday.

Scrum-half Julien Tomas is replaced by experienced campaigner Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, while fly-half David Skrela and full-back Cedric Heymans both return.

Flanker Ibrahim Diarra, number eight Louis Picamoles and hooker Guilhem Guirado all miss out on the matchday 22 to travel to Cardiff, while in come counterparts Thierry Dusautoir, Elvis Vermeulen and William Servat, respectively.

Lievremont is hoping to upset the odds by travelling to Cardiff and securing a 20-point margin of victory to take a third Six Nations crown in four seasons.

"Wales is a tough assignment and we needed players that already know and understand our system so can work at fine-tuning our tactics in the short time that is left for us," the coach explained.

Full 22-man France squad to face Wales:

Backs: Cedric Heymans, Anthony Floch, Julien Malzieu, Vincent Clerc, Damien Traille, Yannick Jauzion, David Skrela, Francois Trinh-Duc, Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, Dimitri Yachvili.

Forwards: Fabien Barcella, Jean-Baptiste Poux, Nicolas Mas, William Servat, Dimitri Szarzewski, Jerome Thion, Lionel Nallet, Arnaud Mela, Julien Bonnaire, Thierry Dusautoir, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Elvis Vermeulen.


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