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Subscribe to RSS FeedLaporte mixes it up
One last hurrah for Ibanez
French coach Bernard Laporte has made nine changes to his side for the World Cup third place play-off against Argentina in Paris on Friday.
Having lost to England in the semi-final Laporte, in his last game in charge, has opted to give the remainder of his squad a run as France look to finish on a high.
Frédéric Michalak is restored at fly-half in place of Lionel Beauxis, who in turn drops down to the bench, as does Vincent Clerc. David Skréla is also given a start, albeit in the unfamiliar role of outside centre.
The wing berths will be occupied by Aurélien Rougerie and Christophe Dominici, whilst make-shift full back Damien Traille reverts to his usual position of inside centre.
Hooker Raphaël Ibañez will continue in the pack, in what is likely to be his last Test for France, although there is no such luxury for Serge Betsen.
Lionel Nallet comes in at lock for the injured Fabien Pelous, who could also retire after the World Cup.
Prop Pieter de Villiers, lock Jérôme Thion, and flanker Thierry Dusautoir all keep their places.
Sebastien Chabal starts on the bench after being cleared by a disciplinary panel on Monday of a dangerous tackle on England's Simon Shaw during the 14-9 semi-final defeat.
France: 15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Aurelien Rougerie, 13 David Skrela, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Christophe Dominici, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Jerome Thion, 4 Lionel Nallet, 3 Pieter de Villiers, 2 Raphaël Ibañez (c), 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements: 16 Sebastian Bruno, 17 Nicolas Mas, 18 Sébastien Chabal, 19 Rémy Martin, 20 Pierre Mignoni, 21 Lionel Beauxis, 22 Vincent Clerc.
Date: Friday 12 October, 2007
Kick off: 21:00 (20:00 BST, 19:00 GMT)
Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris
Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Stuart Dickinson (Australia), Nigel Owens (Wales)
Television match official: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Assessor: Tappe Henning (South Africa)
