Marcoussis, France: France coach Philippe Saint-Andre on Thursday made 12 changes to his starting line-up for the second of two World Cup warm-up games against England at the Stade de France on Saturday.
The French lost 19-14 to Stuart Lancaster’s men at Twickenham last Saturday and Saint-Andre is keen to cast an eye over all of his players before cutting back his squad from 36 to 31 on Sunday.
Notably, he has linked up Frederic Michalak with Sebastien Tillous-Borde at half-back, giving both Toulon veterans a chance to state their claims for World Cup squad slots.
“They are used to playing together and I expect them to get the team playing just as well as Morgan (Parra) and Francois (Trinh Duc) did last week,” said Sant-Andre.
“Saturday’s match will be even more intense than last week.”
Also brought back into the starting line-up are first choice centres Mathieu Bastareaud and Wesley Fofana, who take over from Rimi Lamerat and Alexandre Dumoulin, who both struggled against the English.
Scott Spedding stays on at full-back with Yoann Huget and Noa Nakaitaci completing the back three.
Thierry Dusautoir is rested after sustaining a knee injury and is replaced as skipper by lock Pascal Pape, who is back to full fitness after a thigh strain.
In London, former Wales captain Ryan Jones announced that he is putting an end to his career at the age of 34 following a shoulder injury.
The Bristol back-row player underwent surgery three months ago in an effort to get back to full fitness, but it soon became clear that he could not continue playing.
Jones won 75 caps for Wales, featuring in three Six Nations Grand Slam-winning teams, while he also played in all three Tests for the 2005 British and Irish Lions against New Zealand.
On top of his successful international career, Jones was a key player for Welsh side the Ospreys for several seasons before making a move to Bristol.
“The old cliche of making the decision with a heavy heart is true on this occasion,” he said.
