More new faces for France
Novice prop Yannick Forestier and lock Jocelino Suta have been called up to the France 23-man squad to face Australia on Saturday at Stade de France.
Also in the group for the French is scrumhalf Morgan Parra, despite his coming off a thigh injury.
Coach Philippe Saint-Andre, who will unveil his starting fifteen on Thursday, has thus retained only two of eight new faces called together for a preparation phase.
"Yannick is playing very well with Castres," noted Saint-Andre, speaking to France 3 television.
On Parra's fitness he added: "For Parra there is good news – he's running again able to accelerate… he's 100 percent."
The French will be looking for their first win over the Wallabies since a 26-16 win in Marseille in November 2005 and hence will be looking to rely heavily on experience.
Two loose forwards will notably return – Yannick Nyanga, 28, of Toulouse, who won the last of his 25 caps back in 2007, and Clermont's Damien Chouly, 26, who won two caps between 2007 and 2009.
French squad: Maxime Machenaud, Morgan Parra, Frederic Michalak, Francois Trinh-Duc, Vincent Clerc, Brice Dulin, Wesley Fofana , Florian Fritz, Yoann Huget, Maxime Mermoz, Thomas Domingo, Yannick Forestier, Benjamin Kayser, Dimitri Szarzewski, Vincent Debaty, Nicolas Mas, Yoann Maestri, Pascal Pape (captain), Jocelino Suta, Damien Chouly, Yannick Nyanga, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Louis Picamoles.
