If anyone thought the team France fielded for their first Test against the All Blacks was inexperienced, think again, as head coach Fabien Galthie is set to unveil more youth for the second Test in Wellington.
Galthie has opted to drop 10 players from the XV that narrowly lost 31-27 in the first Test against a wasteful All Blacks in Dunedin, doing away with his most experienced players.
Inside centre Gael Fickou, a veteran of 94 Tests, and tighthead Rabah Slimani are both out of the squad entirely, with Toulouse’s Pierre-Louis Barassi taking Fickou’s place and Georges-Henri Colombe starting instead of Slimani. Slimani’s 57 caps alone are more than the amount possessed by France’s entire starting XV. In Fickou’s place, Castres hooker Gaëtan Barlot will captain the side.
Barassi is one of four Top 14 finalists, alongside Bordeaux-Begles outside centre Nicolas Depoortère, Toulouse lock Joshua Brennan and Toulouse flanker Pierre Bochaton, to start, with Bordeaux back-row Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer on the bench.
New Zealand
France
Brennan, Vergnes-Taillefer and Bochotan are set to make their debuts, as is Toulon lock Matthias Halagahu, Montpellier loosehead Baptiste Erdocio and Pau scrum-half Thibault Daubagna from the bench.
The five players that have been retained by France are the half-back pairing of Nolann Le Garrec and Joris Segonds, winger Theo Attissogbe (who was full-back last week), Emilien Gailleton (who was outside centre last week) and Barlot, who is the only survivor in the pack.
France XV
15 Léo Barré
14 Théo Attissogbe
13 Nicolas Depoortère
12 Pierre-Louis Barassi
11 Émilien Gailleton
10 Joris Segonds
9 Nolann Le Garrec
8 Esteban Abadie
7 Jacobus Van Tonder
6 Pierre Bochaton
5 Matthias Halagahu
4 Joshua Brennan
3 Georges-Henri Colombe
2 Gaëtan Barlot (c)
1 Baptiste Erdocio
Replacements
16 Pierre Bourgarit
17 Paul Mallez
18 Régis Montagne
19 Romain Taofifenua
20 Cameron Woki
21 Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer
22 Thibault Daubagna
23 Antoine Hastoy
