Preview: France v Argentina
France coach Philippe Saint-Andre might finally have found his pair of halfbacks in Sebastien Tillous-Borde and Camille Lopez.
Since taking over from Marc Lievremont after the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Saint-Andre has been tinkering with his halfback pairings, starting 13 different combinations. But for the third time in a row, he will stick with the same men as his team seeks a hat trick of victories this autumn against Argentina on Saturday at Stade de France, following convincing wins over Fiji and Australia.
Another win would mark a turnaround in a miserable year marked by a fourth place in the Six Nations, and three consecutive defeats in June against Australia.
Tillous-Borde and Lopez were instrumental during the two recent wins, with the latter producing a clinical display and Tillous-Borde scoring a clever try in the 29-26 win over Australia last Saturday.
"They are working well together, they are performing and combining well, and we wanted to continue with the same pairing," Saint-Andre said.
"Besides, [scrumhalf] Rory Kockott and [flyhalf] Remi Tales know each other very well. Having a goalkicker on the field, and a goalkicker who can come in during the game, gives you solutions."
Kockott replaced Tillous-Borde against the Wallabies, and hit a key 45-meter penalty eight minutes from time.
"We have the chance to have two good pairs in the squad," said Saint-Andre.
Saint-Andre added a touch of freshness to his pack for the expected tough challenge that the Argentine forwards will bring, with Xavier Chiocci coming in at prop, Benjamin Kayser at hooker, and Sebastien Vahaamahina at lock.
France's only setback during the preparation came after the team was named midweek, when new wing sensation Teddy Thomas missed a training and was dropped.
"In the France group, there are rules that everyone should respect. I had a meeting with Teddy and he understands. I'm sure it will make him grow up," he added.
Thomas, who was replaced by Maxime Medard, has started his international career with a bang, scoring four tries in his first two matches. He apologized in a statement, saying he arrived late at the national training center because of a problem at home.
"I want to underline, without trying to make any excuse, that my error, which needs to be sanctioned, could not be assimilated to insolence or arrogance," said Thomas.
Argentina, which has lost to Scotland and beat Italy this autumn, made four changes.
Captain Agustin Creevy comes in for Matias Cortese at hooker. In the backs, Nicolas Sanchez will start at flyhalf, pushing Juan Martin Hernandez to center alongside Marcelo Bosch. The match will also see the return of Juan Imhoff on the wing.
"We did not play well in either game but we beat Italy, which was important. We have been slow to adapt to the game that we are facing in Europeans, especially in the rucks, where you fight a lot here for every ball.
"The Rugby Championship goes faster, almost without stopping. So, the idea is to start quickly on Saturday, especially against a very tough opponent, at home," Bosch said.
The Pumas have won four of their last eight matches against France.
Players to watch:
For France: South African-born Scott Spedding will be looking to turn around a below-average performance against Australia. Captain fantastic Thierry Dusautoir is always a handful with ball-in-hand and at the breakdown.
For Argentina: Captain Agustín Creevy will look to fire up his pack of forwards with his hard hitting tackles and explosive ball carries. Nicolas Sanchez will be looking to continue his good form and provide the backline with excellent service.
Head to head: Argentina have become synonymous with massive scrums and it will be interesting to see if the French forwards can stand up to the power of the South Americans. Camille Lopez proved influential in the win over Australia last week and will once again need to be at his best, in a mouth-watering challenge opposite the always-impressive Nicolas Sanchez.
Recent results:
2012: France won 39-22, Lille
2012: France won 49-10, Tucuman
2012: Argentina won 23-20, Cordoba
2010: France won 15-9, Montpellier
2010: Argentina won 41-13, Buenos Aires
2008: France won 12-6, Marseille
2007: Argentina won 34-10, Paris (World Cup playoff)
2007: Argentina won 17-12, Paris (World Cup pool match)
2006: France won 27-26, Paris
2004: Argentina won 24-14, Marseille
Prediction: The team that dominates the set-pieces will be the one who walks away as victors. Argentina will look to assert their dominance at the scrums and mauls in order to provide their skillful backline with quality, front-foot ball and could sneak in a surprise win. However, if France can replicate last week's performance, they should come out on top by seven points.
Teams:
France: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Maxime Mermoz, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Maxime Medard, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 5 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 4 Pascal Pape, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Xavier Chiocci.
Replacements from: Guilhem Guirado, Alexandre Menini, Uini Atonio, Alexandre Flanquart, Yoann Maestri, Yannick Nyanga, Charles Ollivon, Rory Kockott, Remi Tales, Mathieu Bastareaud, Benjamin Fall.
Argentina: 15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Juan Imhoff, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Juan Martín Hernández, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Tomás Cubelli, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Facundo Isa, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustín Creevy, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Matías Cortese, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Ramiro Herrera, 19 Lucas Ponce, 20 Tomás Lezana, 21 Martín Landajo, 22 Santiago González Iglesias, 23 Lucas González Amorosino.
Date: Saturday, November 22
Venue: Stade de France, Paris
Kick-off: 21.00 (20.00 GMT; 17.00 Argentina time)
Expected weather: Partly cloudy, low of 11°C, high of 14°C
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Steve Walsh (Australia), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
AFP
