Preview: France v Ireland
Jonathan Sexton, Sean O'Brien and Rob Kearney have all been passed fit and were named in Ireland's team by coach Joe Schmidt after a bruising 16-all draw with Wales in the opening fixture.
Both flank O'Brien and fullback Kearney missed last weekend's game in which Sexton picked up a shoulder knock.
O'Brien completes a back row containing CJ Stander and Jamie Heaslip, with Tommy O'Donnell replacing Rhys Ruddock on the bench.
Kearney's younger brother Dave comes in on the left wing instead of Keith Earls, who along with Munster flyer Simon Zebo misses the trip to Paris as the Irish chase a second successive victory in France for the first time since 1927. They have not lost to France since 2011.
Noves, whose side scrapped a 23-21 victory over Italy last weekend, brought in winger Teddy Thomas for Hugo Bonneval in one of six changes.
Aside from Racing 92's Thomas, Noves has also called up centre Maxime Mermoz, and forwards Jefferson Poirot, Uini Atonio, Alexandre Flanquart and Yacouba Camara.
Two of the changes were forced upon Noves, with centre Gael Fickou (replaced by Mermoz) absent for personal reasons and a serious hamstring injury to No.8 Louis Picamoles.
The France coach discounted the notion that any of the unforced changes could be regarded as a "punishment".
"We don't have a starting XV and replacements, the term 'replacement' is not appropriate in professional rugby," Noves said.
"There is always an atmosphere to create, to challenge yourself but also the desire to see players in the squad evolve."
Noves is counting on the change in personnel to help pull off a first victory over Ireland since 2011.
Noves' counterpart Schmidt admitted his latest team selection has proved "unsettling and frustrating", notably after Zebo failed a fitness test.
Sexton added that he was over the bang on top of the head which compressed his neck.
"I'm fit to go and really looking forward to it," the former Racing playmaker said.
"I'll be fine – I probably felt the way front-rowers feel every day, but as a soft out-half I just didn't hide it as well.
"We've only had one chance to see France under their new management, but some of the new individuals they've thrown in have impressed.
"They've got dangerous guys across the backline.
"I've played against [Stade Francais centre Jonathan] Danty a few times when I was in Paris, and he's pretty similar to Mathieu Bastareaud in stature. He's got a lot of ball-playing abilities and speed to add to that too though.
"But we've prepared really well for it, we've tried to give them the respect they deserve. I don't think you can ever go to Paris confident. They are never beaten over there, it's a tough place to go.
"Just because we've had a little purple patch against them doesn't mean anything now."
Players to watch:
For France: Centre Maxime Mermoz has the explosive power to give the Irish problems in the midfield and he is also tough as nails in defence. Flyhalf Jules Plisson might still be a bit inexperienced at international level, but he showed in the final minutes of his team's match against Italy that he can remain calm on the big stage. It will be interesting to see how his attacking game goes against the Irish. Up front, the French are going to need someone with aggression and power and lock Alexandre Flanquart could be the man to give them that.
For Ireland: The return of flank Sean O'Brien is a major boost for Ireland. His aggression at the breakdown and in the 
tackle is what sets O'Brien apart from most players in Europe, while his brute strength will get Ireland over the advantage line almost every time he carries the ball. New Zealand-born centre Jared Payne has great vision in the midfield and is also good at organising the Irish defence. His combination with Robbie Henshaw in the midfield is a settled one now and their understanding of each other's game gives Ireland some impetus on attack. Fullback Rob Kearney, like O'Brien, is another player who is returning from injury. He is solid under the high ball and also makes good decisions on defence and on attack.
Head to head: The two flyhalves, Jules Plisson and Jonathan Sexton, are worlds apart in experience at this level and it will be interesting to see if the younger Plisson can upstage Ireland's maestro Sexton. Up front, there might be a few tremors if the two No.8s manage to run into each other. Damien Chouly and Jamie Heaslip will both want to carry the ball up with gay abandonment for their respective teams and they would also want to put in some bone-crunching tackles in defence as well (maybe against each other). Their height will also give their respective teams another advantage in the line-outs as well. Another interesting head to head will be between the two captains and hookers, Guilhem Guirado and Rory Best. Decision making will be central to both team's success as well as throwing straight in the line-outs.
Recent results:
2015: Ireland won 24-9, Cardiff (WC pool match)
2015: Ireland won 18-11, Dublin
2014: Ireland won 22-20, Paris
2013: 13-all draw, Dublin
2012: 17-all draw, Paris
2011: France won 26-22, Dublin
2011: France won 19-12, Bordeaux
2011: France won 25-22, Dublin
2010: France won 33-10, Paris
2009: Ireland won 30-21, Dublin
Prediction: France are at home for this encounter, but Ireland have the stronger team with a number of key players returning from injury. Ireland should take this one by ten points.
Teams:
France: 15 Maxime Médard, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Maxime Mermoz, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Sébastien Bézy, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Yacouba Camara, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Guilhem Guirado (captain), 1 Jefferson Poirot.
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Eddy Ben Arous, 19 Paul Jedrasiak, 20 Loann Goujon, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain, 23 Hugo Bonneval.
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 CJ Stander, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Mike McCarthy, 3 Nathan White, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 Richard Strauss, 17 James Cronin, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Tommy O'Donnell, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Fergus McFadden.
Date: Saturday, February 13
Venue: Stade de France, Paris
Kick-off: 15.25 (14.25 GMT)
Expected weather: Showers are expected with the tempreture reaching a high of 7°C.
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)
Agence France-Presse & @rugby365com
