France chase English revenge in second Rugby World Cup warm-up match

France will be hunting for a revenge win over England when the two rivals meet in their second World Cup warm-up match in Paris on Saturday.

Stuart Lancaster's men have won the last two meetings -- both at Twickenham -- including last weekend's 19-14 success, with France eager to repeat the outcome of their last Paris encounter.

Gael Fickou's late try downed England 26-24 at the Stade de France in the opening game of the 2014 Six Nations -- a result which ultimately cost the 2003 world champions.

Outgoing France coach Philippe Saint-Andre, who will make way for Guy Noves after the World Cup, has rung the changes -- 12 in total -- as Les Bleus look to avoid a third successive defeat against their bitter rivals.

First-choice centres Mathieu Bastareaud and Wesley Fofana are back in midfield, while Toulon club-mates Frederic Michalak and Sebastien Tillous-Borde are paired at half-back.
"They (Michalak and Tillous-Borde) are used to playing together and I expect them to get the team playing just as well as Morgan (Parra) and Francois (Trinh-Duc) did last week," said Saint-Andre.

"Saturday's match will be even more intense than last week," added the former Gloucester and Sale Sharks boss, who will cut his squad from 36 to 31 players on Sunday.

Giant Toulouse number 8 Louis Picamoles keeps his place at the base of the French scrum, with Clermont-bound full-back Scott Spedding and Toulouse lock Yoann Maestri the only other two players to retain their spots.

Rabah Slimani, Guilhem Guirado and Eddy Ben Arous form the front row with Stade Francais lock Pascal Pape captaining the side after returning from a thigh strain.

Damien Chouly and Bernard Le Roux complete the back row alongside Picamoles with regular captain Thierry Dusautoir rested after injury.
Yoann Huget -- who scored two of France's three tries in that Six Nations win over England last year -- comes onto the wing alongside Noa Nakaitaci.

England, who last won at the Stade de France in the 2012 Six Nations, have also made wholesale changes, opting for a near first-choice starting 15, with coach Stuart Lancaster keen to freshen things up.

"There is now an opportunity for those not involved or who didn't get much opportunity from the bench to put a marker down and build on that performance," said head coach Stuart Lancaster.

"France were very good last weekend and will be even stronger at home and this will be a big test but these guys have been working hard for the opportunity and are desperate to go out and perform," added Lancaster.

Only Gloucester wing Jonny May retains his place from last weekend with Mike Brown -- who's recovered from concussion -- and Jack Nowell joining him in the back three.

Jonathan Joseph and Luther Burrell are back at centre with preferred half-back pairing George Ford and Ben Youngs completing the backs.

Captain Chris Robshaw returns at openside flanker alongside back-row partners James Haskell and Billy Vunipola, while Courtney lawes is at lock with Joe Launchbury who plays his first international in 12 months after injury.

Dan Cole, Tom Youngs and Joe Marler form a first-choice front row.
Source: AFP