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Kyle Baillie will make his return to the Canadian lineup for their match against Clermont Auvergne on Friday. The 27-year-old lines up on the blindside flank having recovered from a shoulder injury sustained while playing for London Scottish in the RFU Championship.
Five changes in all are made to the run-on side for the final match of the France tour. Hubert Buydens starts at loosehead prop having been a late addition to the touring squad, with Cole Keith named at tighthead. Doug Fraser is named at outside centre with Ben LeSage switching to the left wing, and Robbie Povey is the new fullback.
Dropping to the bench to make room are Djustice Sears-Duru, Ryan Kotlewski, Lucas Rumball, Cole Davis, and Theo Sauder. Joining the squad after missing the first match against Castres are hooker Benoit Piffero and loose forward Dustin Dobravsky.
Hosts Clermont have named a star-studded roster to open the match against the Canadians. Nine full internationals will run out including Georgian prop Davit Zirakashvili and Fiji loose forward Peceli Yato. A giant second row sees former Wallaby standout Sitaleki Timani paired with France regular Sébastien Vaha’amahina, and another France lock Arthur Iturria is named on the blindside flank.
Former New Zealand Sevens star Fritz Lee leads the side with British & Irish Lions tourist Greig Laidlaw partnering Camille Lopez of France in the halfbacks. Two-time All Black World Cup selection Isaia Toeava is in the midfield with Fijian flyer Alivereti Raka on the left wing.
Kickoff is set for 8pm local time, 2pm Eastern. The match will be streamed live by Sports Auvergne.
CLERMONT AUVERGNE
1 Etienne Falgoux, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 5 Sébastien Vaha’amahina, 6 Arthur Iturria, 7 Peceli Yato, 8 Fritz Lee (capt.), 9 Greig Laidlaw, 10 Camille Lopez, 11 Alivereti Raka, 12 Apisai Naqalevu, 13 Isaia Toeava, 14 Samuel Ezeala, 15 Setareki Tuicuvu
Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Loni Uhila, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Damien Chouly, 20 Charlie Cassang, 21 Patricio Fernández, 22 Wesley Fofana, 23 Sipili Falatea, 24 Beka Kakabadze, 25 Alexandre Fischer, 26 Julien Ruaud, 27 William Hutteau, 28 Jacobus van Tonder, 29 Peter Betham, 30 Yohan Beheregaray
CANADA
1 Hubert Buydens, 2 Ray Barkwill, 3 Cole Keith, 4 Mike Sheppard, 5 Paul Ciulini, 6 Kyle Baillie, 7 Matt Heaton, 8 Luke Campbell, 9 Phil Mack (capt.), 10 Patrick Parfrey, 11 Ben LeSage, 12 Guiseppe du Toit, 13 Doug Fraser, 14 Kainoa Lloyd, 15 Robbie Povey
Replacements: 16 Benoît Pifféro, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Ryan Kotlewski, 19 Adrian Wadden, 20 Lucas Rumball, 21 Jorden Sandover-Best, 22 Mike Nieuwenhuysen, 23 Theo Sauder, 24 Noah Barker, 25 Eric Howard, 26 Dustin Dobravsky, 27 Grant Crowell, 28 Aidan McMullan, 29 Josh Thiel, 30 Andrew Ferguson, 31 Cole Davis
