Preview: France v Fiji
Philippe Saint-Andre will find himself under increasing pressure if his foreign imports do not shine against Fiji in a Test match in Marseille on Saturday.
Saint-Andre continued to spring surprises in his team selection by opting for South African-born pair Scott Spedding and Bernard Le Roux at fullback and openside flank respectively.
On top of that, he picked two new caps in Racing-Metro pair Teddy Thomas (left wing) and Alexandre Dumoulin (outside centre), leaving the likes of Mathieu Bastareaud, the Toulon centre, fighting for a place on the bench while Toulouse wing Maxime Medard misses out altogether.
Spedding's inclusion became logical once Racing's fullback Brice Dulin was ruled out after picking up an injury last weekend, although either Medard or his Toulouse teammate Yoann Huget, picked at right wing, could have played there.
Saint-Andre has been defending his selection of non-French players and said he was particularly excited to see Spedding perform.
"I expect him to play well, to bristle, to enjoy himself and to counter-attack," said Saint-Andre.
Having played for Golden Lions and Sharks in his homeland, Spedding arrived in France at Brive in 2008, before moving on to Bayonne four years later.
Spedding insists he feels French having fallen in love with the country's passion for rugby following his arrival.
"I came to France at a very young age [22], with a small rucksack and nothing else," said the former classmate of Kenyan-born British cyclist Chris Froome, the 2013 Tour de France winner.
"I was earning very little. People say I came here for the money but that's not true.
"My father gave me some money every month so I could get by.
"I started enjoying playing rugby here and when I saw the extent to which rugby is a passion here, a religion, I no longer wanted to return to South Africa."
The other contentious issue in Saint-Andre's half-back pairing – his favourite toy to fiddle with.
Despite having the possibility to pick Castres pair Rory Kockott – another South African – and Remi Tales, he plumped instead for Toulon scrumhalf Sebastien Tillous-Borde and Camille Lopez, the Clermont flyhalf.
Saint-Andre's tinkering with his halfbacks has become a running joke in France but the coach insists he's gone with the in-form pair – 2013 champions and last season's finalists Castres are rock bottom of the Top 14.
"Yes, Tales and Kockott work well together but Camille has really claimed kicking duties at Clermont, which is reassuring for us. It's logical [to pick Lopez and Tillous-Borde]," said the coach.
Saint-Andre needs his team to win, and win well, if he is to alleviate the pressure on him.
France have been in dire form since he took over the reins, winning only 11 out of 29 Tests with Saint-Andre at the helm.
In three Six Nations Championships under Saint-Andre, France have finished fourth twice and bottom in 2013.
Although he began 2012 with six wins a draw and three defeats, since then the team have won just five, drawn once and lost 13 matches.
Fiji are perhaps not as dangerous as they might have been in times past but they are likely to be truly fired up.
Nine of their starting XV ply their trade in France and the home team know all about the danger posed by Fiji's back three.
Grenoble wing Alipate Ratini is the top scorer in the Top 14 while Bordeaux-Begles' Metuisela Talebula – normally a wing who will play at fullback – is second.
The right wing on Saturday, Watisoni Votu, plays for second division Perpignan.
Fiji's entire back row plays in the Top 14 with Lyon No.8 Masi Matadigo flanked by Montpellier's Akapusi Qera, the captain, and Dominiko Waqaniburotu of Brive.
Next week, Fiji travel to Cardiff to play Wales while France host Australia in Paris, before tackling Argentina, also at the Stade de France, a week after that.
Players to watch:
For France: No doubt the spotlight will shine bright on all the foreign imports Scott Spedding at fullback, Bernard Le Roux at flank and Rory Kockott on the bench. Then there is Camille Lopez at flyhalf, who will have to pull the strings that get that dangerous French backline going.
For Fiji: Nine of the Fijian starting XV ply their trade in France, including captain Akapusi Qera (Montpellier) – with Sunia Koto (Narbonne), Apisalome Ratuniyarawa (Agen), Dominiko Waqaniburotu (Brive), Masi Matadigo (Lyon), Levani Botia (La Rochelle), Alipate Ratini (Grenoble), Watisoni Votu (Perpignan) and Metuisela Talebula (Bordeaux) also very familiar with their French foes. Add in Campese Ma'afu (Nottingham), Leone Nakarawa (Glasgow Warriors), Nikola Matawalu (Glasgow Warriors) and Jonetani Ralulu (Romania) and you have just two players not based in Europe.
Head to head: Fiji are not know for their set pieces, which means the French will look for a decisive advantage here – Yoann Maestri, Pascal Papé, Nicolas Mas, Guilhem Guirado and Alexandre Ménini (France) looking to impose themselves on Api Ratuniyarawa, Leone Nakarawa, Manasa Saulo, Sunia Koto and Campese Ma'afu (Fiji).
Recent results:
2010: France won 34-12, Nantes
2003: France won 61-18, Brisbane (World Cup pool match)
2001: France won 77-10, St Etienne
1999: France won 28-19, Toulouse (World Cup pool match)
1998: France won 34-9, Suva
1991: France won 33-9, Grenoble (World Cup pool match)
1987: France won 31-16, Auckland (World Cup quarterfinal)
1964: France won 21-3, Paris
Prediction: Fiji will entertain and France may well also entertain. An upset is likely, but we feel the French will just have too much structure and win by 10 to 15 points.
Teams:
France: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Alexandre Dumoulin, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Teddy Thomas, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Alexandre Ménini.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Uini Atonio, 18 Xavier Chiocci, 19 Alexandre Flanquart, 20 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 21 Charles Ollivon, 22 Rory Kockott, 23 Remi Tales, 24 Mathieu Bastareaud, 25 Maxime Mermoz.
Fiji: 15 Metuisela Talebula, 14 Watisoni Votu, 13 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 12 Lepani Botia, 11 Alipate Ratini, 10 Jonetani Ralulu, 9 Nicola Matawalu, 8 Masi Matadigo, 7 Akapusi Qera (captain), 6 Dominiko Waqaniburotu, 5 Api Ratuniyarawa, 4 Leone Nakarawa, 3 Manasa Saulo, 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements: 16 Viliame Veikoso, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Isei Colatei, 19 Nemia Soqeta, 20 Malakai Ravulo, 21 Henri Seniloli, 22 Nemani Nadolo, 23 Timoci Nagusa.
Date: Saturday, November 8
Venue: Stade Veledrome, Marseille
Kick-off: 17.45 (16.45 GMT, Sunday, November 9, 05.45 Fiji Time)
Expected weather: Sunny to partly cloudy, with virtually no chance of rain. High of 18°C and a low of 11°C
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Mike Fraser (New Zealand), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO: Stefano Pennè (Italy)
AFP & @rugby365com
