Galthie reveals hand for Bok showdown
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: France head coach Fabien Galthie named an experienced outfit for the highly anticipated Nations Series clash against the Springboks.
There are seven survivors from the team that went down in the 2023 World Cup quarterfinal against South Africa, with five of those players in the starting line-up.
Gael Fickou will don the captain’s armband in the No.12 shirt with Pierre-Louis Barassi on his outside.
The back three consists of speed and counter-attacking threats in Tomas Ramos at fullback, flanked by Damien Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey on the wings.
Scrumhalf Nolann de Garrec partners with flyhalf Romain Ntamack as the halfbacks.
Up front, Mickaël Gullard starts at No.8 with Paul Boudehent and Anthony Jelonch forming the loose trio.
Thibaud Flament and the bulky Emmanuel Meafoub form the lock partnership.
Hooker Julian Marchand starts alongside loosehead prop Baptiste Erdocio and tighthead Régis Montagne.
France: 15 Tomas Ramos, 14 Damien Penaud, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Nolann le Garrec, 8 Mickaël Guillard, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Régis Montagne, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Baptiste Erdocio.
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Dorian Aldegheri 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Hugo Auradou, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Nicolas Depoortère
Date: Saturday, November 8
Venue: Stade de France, Paris
Kick-off: 21.10 (22.10 SAST; 20.10 GMT)
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)