First choice France to face Canada

France have retained only two of the starting side that faced Romania, reverting to their first strength team for the match against Canada at Milton Keynes on Thursday. Only Wesley Fofana and Brice Dulin continue, as Philippe Saint-André opts not to take any chances against a team that gave Italy a major scare on Saturday.

The lineup is very similar to the one that ran out against the Azzurri in the opening match, with only minor tinkering. Louis Picamoles is rested, with Damien Chouly lining up at no8 and Bernard le Roux restored to his more accustomed flank position after filling in at lock against the Oaks.

Brice Dulin moves over the left wing with Noa Nakaitaci also given a day off, and Fofana takes over at inside centre from Alexandre Dumoulin. The knee injury suffered by Yoann Huget gives Rémy Grosso a chance to win his first cap in the no14 shirt.

France have lost only once in 10 meetings with the Canadians, a famous 18-16 loss at Twin Elm Park in 1994. Their last match-up was at the World Cup in 2011, when France emerged on top by a score of 46-19 in Napier, New Zealand.

FRANCE
1 Eddy Ben Arous 2 Guilhem Guirado 3 Rabah Slimani 4 Pascal Papé 5 Yoann Maestri 6 Thierry Dusautoir (capt.) 7 Bernard le Roux 8 Damien Chouly 9 Sébastien Tillous-Borde 10 Frédéric Michalak 11 Brice Dulin 12 Wesley Fofana 13 Mathieu Bastareaud 14 Rémy Grosso 15 Scott Spedding

16 Benjamin Kayser 17 Vincent Debaty 18 Nicolas Mas 19 Yannick Nyanga 20 Fulgence Ouedraogo 21 Morgan Parra 22 Rémi Talès 23 Alexandre Dumoulin