France v England: Team news

Dimitri Yachvili is the big addition to the French side for Sunday's showdown.

France v England

Six Nations, Stade de France, Sunday March 12, 15.00

France have made two crucial changes for Sunday's clash with England, drafting in Dimitri Yachvili and Sylvain Marconnet.

Scrum half Yachvili represents a huge alteration to the half back combination for coach Bernard Laporte, who has opted for the Biarritz man over regular number nine Jean-Baptiste Ellisalde.

Yachvili has only been used as a replacement so far in the Six Nations, but he is now prepared to make his first international start since November 2005 when England arrive in Paris.

Commenting on the decision, Laporte revealed: "Elissalde and Yachvili are two good scrumhalves and two good goalkickers but Elissalde is not as fresh as he was in November.

"Yachvili played well after he came on against Italy. He deserves to play for the sake of the competition we want to develop between our squad members. It would have been unfair not to give him the start he deserved."

Elsewhere, the back division remains unchanged as Frederic Michalak is given another chance to improve on his stuttering form of 2006, while Aurelien Rougerie and Christophe Dominici continue outwide in place of Cedric Heymans.

In the front row, Marconnet starts at loosehead in place of Olivier Millou, who joins Elissalde on the bench.

Fabien Pelous captains the side from lock, and he plays in front of a back row that boasts the talents of Thomas Lievremont, Olivier Magne and Yannick Nyanga.

Two further alterations to the matchday 22 come on the bench, where Dimitri Szarzewski and Ludovic Valbon both return.

World Cup-winning scrum-half Matt Dawson has been recalled to the England starting line-up for Sunday's Six Nations showdown with France in Paris.

Wasps number nine Dawson (pictured) comes in for Leicester's Harry Ellis, while Sale prop Andrew Sheridan is relegated to the bench in favour of fit-again Bath forward Matt Stevens.

Sheridan takes Perry Freshwater's place on the bench and Ellis is also among the replacements.

Stevens missed England's Calcutta Cup defeat against Scotland because of a shoulder injury, but he is now moved from tighthead to loosehead prop, with Leicester's Julian White also retained in the XV.

Former captain Lawrence Dallaglio is named on the bench for a fourth-successive game, with head coach Andy Robinson sticking with the back row of Joe Worsley, Lewis Moody and skipper Martin Corry.

Dawson, 33, captained England the last time they beat France in Paris six years ago and will be winning his 76th cap - but it will be his first Six Nations start since England lost to Wales in Cardiff last season.

Bath second row Danny Grewcock also starts after escaping with a warning following his stamp on Mike Hercus during last Saturday's Powergen Cup semi-final defeat to Llanelli Scarlets.

Leicester hooker George Chuter, who has been cited for an alleged stamp on Wasps hooker Raphael Ibanez and now faces a disciplinary hearing, has been replaced on the bench by Bath's Lee Mears.

France team: 15 T Castaignede (Saracens); 14 A Rougerie (Clermont), 13 F Fritz (Toulouse), 12 D Traille (Biarritz), 11 C Dominici (Stade Francais); 10 F Michalak (Toulouse), 9 D Yachvili (Biarritz); 1 S Marconnet (Stade Francais), 2 R Ibanez (Wasps), 3 P De Villiers (Stade Francais), 4 J Thion (Biarritz), 5 F Pelous (Toulouse, capt), 6 Y Nyanga (Toulouse), 7 O Magne (London Irish), 8 T Lievremont (Biarritz)
Replacements: D Szarzewski (Stade Francais), O Milloud (Bourgoin), L Nallet (Castres), J Bonnaire (Bourgoin), J-B Elissalde (Toulouse), L Valbon (Brive), C Heymans (Toulouse).

England team: 15 J Lewsey (Wasps); 14 M Cueto (Sale Sharks), 13 J Noon (Newcastle), 12 M Tindall (Gloucester), 11 B Cohen (Northampton); 10 C Hodgson (Sale Sharks), 9 M Dawson (Wasps); 1 M Stevens (Bath), 2 S Thompson (Northampton), 3 J White (Leicester), 4 S Borthwick (Bath), 5 D Grewcock (Bath), 6 J Worsley (Wasps), 7 L Moody (Leicester), 8 M Corry (Leicester, capt).
Replacements: L Mears (Bath), A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), S Shaw (Wasps), L Dallaglio (Wasps), H Ellis (Leicester), A Goode (Leicester), T Voyce (Wasps)