Marc Lievremont lists his match-day squad for last pool match of 2011 Rugby World Cup against Tonga
Marc Lievremont has announced his match-day 22 squad for France’s last 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) pool encounter against Tonga. Lievremont made four changes in his squad, which took the field against the All Blacks at Eden Park, Auckland on Saturday. He
announced his squad for their upcoming weekend encounter on Monday, September 26. France will play their last pool match of the 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) against the Tonga at Westpac Stadium, Wellington on Saturday, October 1.
France currently has won two out of their three pool matches and will be looking for a win to confirm their spot in the quarter-finals of the tournament. They are currently placed second in Pool A, behind the hosts All Blacks. However, they are closely followed
by Canada and Tonga, with 6 and 5 points respectively.
Changes include a move of Maxime Medard from the winger to the full back position in place of Damien Traille. Traille has been dropped from the match-day 22 altogether, making way for Alexis Palisson in the starting line. Palisson will start the match at
the winger position.
In an interview to L'Equipe, Medard has expressed his desire to capitalise on the opportunity to play at the fullback position. He received severe criticism following his poor performance in their last match against the All Blacks. He said, “At
fullback, I have more responsibilities, I want to show that I am there to help the team. Marc has shown the confidence he has in me. It's up to me not to let him down.”
Medard has expressed his delight on his return to the fullback position. He added that he is aware of the necessary changes required for the role and will work with the wingers to contribute positively to the team.
In addition to this, Louis Picamoles has been dropped, as Raphael Lakafia will resume his number eight position role in the starting xv. Lievremont has also moved William Servat from the bench to start the match in the front row as the hooker, in place of
Dimitri Szarzewski.
Szarzewski has been dropped to the bench and Lievremont has retained Morgan Parra and Dimitri Yachvili pairing in the halfbacks position.
Les Bleus roster for their upcoming encounter against Tonga consists of:
Starting XV: Maxime Medard; Vincent Clerc, Aurelien Rougerie, Maxime Mermoz, Alexis Palisson; Morgan Parra, Dimitri Yachvili; Jean-Baptiste Poux, William Servat, Luc Ducalcon; Pascal Pape, Lionel Nallet; Thierry Dusautoir (capt), Julien
Bonnaire, Raphael Lakafia.
Replacements: Dimitri Szarzewski, Fabien Barcella, Julien Pierre, Imanol Harinordoquy, Francois Trinh-Duc, Fabrice Estebanez, Cedric Heymans.
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