Laharrague set for Welsh debut as Laporte rings changes
He has opted for the relatively untested Yannick Nyanga to partner Serge Betsen and Julien Bonnaire in the backrow instead of Grand Slam winner Imanol Harinordoquy, who had been brought back into the squad for the dropped Sebastien Chabal.
Other changes see Julien Laharrague win his first cap at fullback in place of Pepito Elhorga, Aurelien Rougerie returns after injury on the wing and Yannick Jauzion comes in for centre Brian Liebenberg.
“There are 25 matches before the 2007 World Cup and we want to see as many players as possible,” explained France manager Jo Maso.
Laharrague gets his chance despite playing on the wing for his club Brive while Jauzion would probably have played in the first two matches instead of Liebenberg had he been fit.
“We hope he’ll bring more to the offence,” said Maso. “Maybe he’ll make some errors but we have a lot of faith in him.”
France’s player of the year for 2004, Yannick Jauzion wins his 23rd cap and is reunited with Damien Traille, with whom he forged an effective midfield for last year’s Grand Slam.
“We think they complement each other,” said Maso. “Yannick will bring us more fluidity and see us able to bring the wingers more into play.”
Harinordoquy is still out of favour with Laporte, who told him prior to the thrashing by New Zealand in November that he had 80 minutes to show he was worthy of wearing the French shirt.
Betsen will win his 46th cap provided he passes a fitness test later in the week after suffering a thigh injury against England.
Laporte explained why he had opted to pair Betsen and 21-year-old Nyanaga, who wins his fifth cap.
“They are two players who run with the ball and hold onto it very well,” he said.
Laporte, the subject of much criticism for the lack of flair shown by his unbeaten side, retains faith in the halfback partnership of Yann Delaigue and Dimitri Yachvili, who scored all their points in the win over England.
He has resisted calls to bring back the creative skills of Toulouse star Frederic Michalak.
“Yann gives us calmness and that eases the pressure on Frederic, who brings a lot to the team when he comes on,” said Laporte.
Michalak’s clubmate hooker William Servat also failed to regain his place in the starting line-up despite being credited by Laporte with being a crucial factor in the come-back against England when he came on as a replacement for Sebastien Bruno.
Laporte admitted Saturday’s match would be a tough one after Wales beat England and Italy to keep their dreams alive of a first Grand Slam since 1978.
“Wales have virtually the same team that pushed England so hard in the World Cup quarter-finals.
“They have four or five excellent backs.
“We have to be ourselves and to put as much pressure on the opponents as possible and use the ball when we get it,” the 40-year-old said.
FRANCE: J Laharrague (Brive); A Rougerie (Clermont Auvergne), D Traille (Biarritz), Y Jauzion (Stade Toulousain), C Dominici (Stade Francais); Y Delaigue (Castres), D Yachvili (Biarritz); S Marconnet (Stade Francais), S Bruno (Sale Sharks), N Mas (Perpignan), F Pelous (Toulouse, captain), J Thion (Biarritz), S Betsen (Biarritz), Y Nyanga (Beziers), J Bonnaire (Bourgoin).
Replacements: W Servat (Toulouse), O Milloud (Bourgoin), G Lamboley (Toulouse), I Harinordoquy (Biarritz), P Mignoni (Clermont), F Michalak (Toulouse), J-P Grandclaude (Perpignan).
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