France make five changes for South Africa

France head coach Philippe Saint-Andre has made five changes to his starting lineup for Saturday’s match with South Africa at the Stade de France.

The French defeated Tonga 38-18 last Saturday in a bruising encounter at Le Havre, having lost to New Zealand the previous week

Back into the walk-on team come flanker Wenceslas Lauret, lock Pascal Pape, hooker Benjamin Kayser, centre Wesley Fofana and full-back Brice Dulin.

There is also a start for lock Yoann Maestri, despite him having been sent off for fighting against Tonga.

Maestri was facing a lengthy suspension for his actions but a disciplinary committee took a lenient view and he was spared any match bans.

The team is almost identical to the one that lost 26-19 to the All Blacks in the first of the November tests with the exception of Sofiane Guitoune, who replaces Maxime Medard.

“This is a team which shows a lot of continuity from the first two games,” said Saint-Andre.

“We are getting ourselves ready for a huge challenge taking on the second best team in the world. They put a lot of intensity into their games and are very physical. It will be a top-class match.”

France

Brice Dulin; Sofiane Guitoune, Florian Fritz, Wesley Fofana, Yoann Huget; Remi Tales, Morgan Parra; Damien Chouly, Wenceslas Lauret, Thierry Dusautoir (capt); Yoann Maestri, Pascal Pape; Nicolas Mas, Benjamin Kayser, Yannick Forestier

Replacements: Dimitri Szarzewski, Thomas Domingo, Rabah Slimani, Sebastien Vahaamahina, Yannick Nyanga, Jean-Marc Doussain, Frederic Michalak, Mathieu Bastareaud