France v Scotland - Teams and Prediction
PREVIEW: France and Scotland will see the return of their captains, Antoine Dupont and Jamie Ritchie, to their starting line-ups for Saturday’s World Cup warm-up game in Saint-Etienne on Saturday.
Scotland coach Gregor Townsend made six changes to the XV which beat World Cup hosts France 25-21 at Murrayfield last weekend.
Captain Ritchie had missed Scotland’s two previous Tests with a calf injury.
Ali Price replaces Ben White, who suffered an ankle injury during the first half last Saturday, at scrumhalf.
Prop WP Nel earns a recall in place of Zander Fagerson who is suspended after his red card in Scotland’s stunning comeback win against the French.
In-form wing Darcy Graham has been rested after scoring tries in back-to-back games, with Kyle Steyn stepping in.
Scotland are bidding for a third straight warm-up win ahead of their last match before the World Cup against Georgia on August 26.
Dupont and Romain Ntamack return after being rested for last week’s defeat at Murrayfield.
Only back-row forward Paul Boudehent, who made his France debut last Saturday, and lock Cameron Woki keep their place in a team showing 13 changes from Edinburgh.
Toulon wing Gabin Villiere comes in for his first cap since last year’s Six Nations when France won a Grand Slam. He will line up opposite Damian Penaud, with Thomas Ramos at fullback.
Five players from the 42-man training squad are unavailable through injury in prop Demba Bamba, locks Paul Willemse and Romain Taofifenua, flanker Francois Cros and No. 8 Yoan Tanga.
France also face Fiji in Nantes on August 19 and Australia in Paris eight days later ahead of the World Cup.
Players to watch:
For Scotland: Four South Africans who will play a huge role are wings Duhan van der Merwe and Kyle Steyn as well as the two props WP Nel and Pierre Schoeman. Last week’s captain Finn Russell will again play a vital role at ten and this week’s captain Jamie Ritchie will be out to stamp his authority, especially in the loose play.
For France: Antoine Dupont, the French captain, has been described as the maestro of the Les Blues and he will undoubtedly direct the game from behind the scrum. Romain Ntamack is a quality flyhalf that will form a formidable halfback pairing with Dupont.
Prediction
@rugby365com: France by 12 points
Teams:
France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Gabin Villiere, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (captain), 8 Charles Ollivon, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Gregory Alldritt, 5 Thibaud Flament, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Cyril Baille.
Replacements: 16 Pierre Bourgarit, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Uini Atonio, 19 Florian Verhaeghe, 20 Bastien Chalureau, 21 Sekou Macalou, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe; 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Jamie Ritchie (captain), 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Richie Gray, 3 WP Nel, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Sam Skinner, 21 Josh Bayliss, 22 George Horner, 23 Ollie Smith.
Date: Saturday, August 12
Venue: Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Etienne
Referee: Nic Berry (RA)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (RFU), Adam Leal (RFU)
TMO: Tom Foley (RFU)
Additional source @AFP
