France coach Marc Lievremont on Tuesday made four changes, one positional, to his starting lineup for the World Cup Pool A clash with Tonga in Wellington on Saturday. In come hooker William Servat in place of Dimitri Szarzewski, number eight Raphaël Lakafia instead of Louis Picamoles and winger Alexis Palisson taking over from Maxime Médard, who moves to full-back with Damian Traille dropping out. But Lievremont stuck by his controversial decision to play regular scrum-half Morgan Parra at fly-half, with Dimitri Yachvili sharing the half-back duties. Parra played at No.10 in the 37-17 defeat at the hands of the All Blacks last weekend and the coach said he had impressed in the position. Palisson will play his first match at the World Cup having missed the three earlier games due to a back injury sustained in the French training camp. France need just a single point against the Tongans to ensure their qualification for the quarter-finals where their likliest opponent will be England. France (15-1) Maxime Médard; Vincent Clerc, Aurélien Rougerie, Maxime Mermoz, Alexis Palisson; Morgan Parra, Dimitri Yachvili; Raphael Lakafia, Julien Bonnaire, Thierry Dusautoir (capt); Lionel Nallet, Pascal Pape; Luc Ducalcon, William Servat, Jean-Baptiste Poux Replacements:. Dimitri Szarzewski, Fabien Barcella, Julien Pierre, Imanol Harinordoquy, Francois Trinh-Duc, Fabrice Estebanez, Cédric Heymans
GMT 18:30 2017 Tuesday ,26 December
FIFA trial: New York jury acquits former Peru soccer bossGMT 13:18 2017 Tuesday ,26 December
Early drama as Sydney to Hobart fleet race to break recordGMT 20:25 2017 Monday ,25 December
Klopp urges Liverpool to focus on Euro ambitionsGMT 18:35 2017 Monday ,25 December
Mutko suspends Russian football role to fight Olympic lifetime banGMT 10:11 2017 Monday ,25 December
Federer, Nadal shine as rivals hobble into 2018GMT 19:22 2017 Sunday ,24 December
Southampton's Austin charged with violent conductGMT 18:02 2017 Sunday ,24 December
'Tongan Bear' Uhila extends Clermont contractGMT 17:07 2017 Sunday ,24 December
Serena Williams to make competitive return in Abu Dhabi next week
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor