Rugby World Cup: Surprises in French side to face All Blacks

Dimitri Yachvili. Photo / Getty Images

First-five Francois Trinh-Duc was dropped and replaced by scrumhalf Morgan Parra in the France side to play New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup on Saturday.

Parra has never started a match at No. 10 for France and will likely be pitted against Dan Carter, arguably the best first-five in the world, at Eden Park.

"I thought about this long into the night, especially the decision about the halfbacks, which wasn't an easy one,'' France coach Marc Lievremont said on Tuesday. "Francois Trinh-Duc is paying the price a bit for the last two games, and Morgan has done very well when he's played.''

Parra has not played no.10 at club level for three years, and has made two fleeting appearances for France in this position.

"Even though he's not the biggest of lads, he's very courageous and I trust the backrow will protect him,'' Lievremont said.

Lievremont has earned a reputation for tinkering with his sides during his four years in charge, and has picked players out of position before notably moving Aurelien Rougerie inside from the wing to center and he appears to have done so to shake Trinh-Duc out of his slump.

"I'm expecting him to react. I'm disappointed with his two performances and I've told him that,'' Lievremont said. "He has trouble accepting when he's underperformed, which is a necessary thing to be a champion.''

With utility back Jean-Marc Doussain having arrived from France late Monday, and expected to feature against Tonga in the final Pool A game, Lievremont has clearly issued Trinh-Duc a challenge.

It was a brave move from Lievremont, seeing as Trinh-Duc has been his first-choice flyhalf for three years.

"There will be competition for places, perhaps there hasn't been enough of that for Francois,'' Lievremont said.

Lievremont made several changes from the side that beat Canada 46-19 on Sunday, with flanker Thierry Dusautoir returning as captain, hooker Dimitri Szarzewski playing his first match of the tournament, and Dimitri Yachvili coming in at scrumhalf.

Maxime Medard comes in at left wing, with Rougerie reverting back from playing on the wing against Canada to center in place of David Marty, who had a poor match against the Canadians.

Louis Picamoles retains his place at No. 8 after his impressive performance against Canada, and has a chance to make that position his own ahead of Raphael Lakafia.

"Picamoles has been rewarded for his last match,'' Lievremont said. "I've always reproached him for his inconsistency, now he has the chance to show he can play two good matches at the highest level. It's up to him to see if he can take it.''

Lievremont had considered waiting until Thursday to name his team on the same day as New Zealand, but he does not expect much chopping and changing in the All Blacks team.

"I'm not expecting any big surprises, except the name of the center who will play with Conrad Smith,'' he said. "I expect to see the best of the All Blacks in this match.''

France beat New Zealand in the quarterfinals at the last World Cup, and was the last test side to beat New Zealand at Eden Park, back in 1994. France also beat the All Blacks in Dunedin two years ago.

"This is a unique match, it's always an honor to play against them in New Zealand,'' Lievremont said. "The ultimate would be to play the All Blacks at Eden Park in the final.''

France

1. Jean-Baptiste Poux
2. Dimitri Szarzewski
3. Luc Ducalcon
4. Pascal Pape
5. Lionel Nallet
6. Thierry Dusautoir (c)
7. Julien Bonnaire
8. Louis Picamoles
9. Dimitri Yachvili
10. Morgan Parra
11. Maxime Médard
12. Maxime Mermoz
13. Aurélien Rougerie
14. Vincent Clerc
15. Damien Traille

Replacements

16. William Servat
17. Fabien Barcella
18. Julien Pierre
19. Imanol Harinordoquy
20. Francois Trinh-Duc
21. Fabrice Estebanez
22. Cédric Heymans

- AP