FRANCE'S COACH, Marc Lièvremont, having used this year's Six Nations as a testbed for emerging young players, has largely abandoned the policy for Saturday's tournament decider against Wales in Cardiff.
With France needing to win by a clear 20 points to take the championship, Lièvremont's team comprises predominantly seasoned campaigners, with only three youngsters included.
At scrumhalf, Jean-Baptiste Elissalde returns after an ankle injury, while David Skrela is recalled at outhalf. A third place-kicker in Dimitri Yachvili is on the bench.
The hard-tackling flanker Thierry Dusautoir is also back, while among the backs Damien Traille is partnered at centre with Yannick Jauzion, as so often under Bernard Laporte, and the prolific Vincent Clerc is reinstated on the wing.
"We had decided before the game against Italy to look again at certain players who had been left out, such as Dusautoir, Clerc or Elissalde," said Lièvremont.
"Seeing what they have produced since the start of the tournament, it was only reasonable to bring them back for this last game. And as far as the team goes . . . we simply wished to put together the best team we could to win."
There are still decisions that will raise eyebrows, notably the selection of Fulgence Ouedraogo at eight ahead of Elvis Vermeulen, who has been in fine form for his club Clermont-Auvergne.
The 21-year-old from Montpellier got the nod, however, because his speed around the pitch is what Lièvremont believes he needs to counter the dynamic play the Welsh will produce on Saturday.
Vermeulen, said Lièvremont, is likely to appear as an impact replacement late in the game.
Another surprise is the absence of Cedric Heymans, whose partnership with Clerc on the wings was so influential against Scotland and Ireland. Instead, France will look to the pace of the young Clermont fullback Anthony Floch and his team-mate Julien Malzieu to complement Clerc.
France, said Lièvremont, will start with the same plan as in earlier games: to retain the ball and dictate the pace, even more important given the speed of the Welsh backs.
"We always want to have the initiative, even if we haven't always managed it perfectly," he said. "We will have to defend well to win the ball, but letting them run at us in a stadium where the atmosphere will be white hot will be a sure way to defeat."
Italy's coach, Nick Mallett, has made no changes to his side for Saturday's wooden-spoon decider against Scotland in Rome.
The flanker Alessandro Zanni will once again deputise for the suspended Mauro Bergamasco.
Mallett has kept faith with the out-of-form centre Gonzalo Canale, who dropped important passes in the 25-13 defeat by France last weekend and the 47-8 reverse against Wales last month.
"I'm not a coach who makes changes if a player has a bad match," Mallett said yesterday. "Canale has a level which is better than he has shown up to now."
FRANCE XV
A Floch (Clermont); V Clerc (Toulouse), Y Jauzion (Toulouse), D Traille (Biarritz), J Malzieu (Clermont); D Skrela (Stade Français), J B Elissalde (Toulouse); F Barcella (Auch), D Szarzewski (Stade Français), N Mas (Perpignan); L Nallet (Castres, capt), J Thion (Biarritz); T Dusautoir (Toulouse), F Ouedraogo (Montpellier), J Bonnaire (Clermont)
Replacements: W Servat (Toulouse), J-B Poux (Toulouse), A Mela (Albi), E Vermeulen (Clermont), D Yachvili (Biarritz), F Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), C Heymans (Toulouse).
