France make five changes for Croker showpiece
Three changes come in the pack, Stade Francais prop Sylvain Marconnet taking the place of Olivier Milloud, Castres lock Pascal Pape replacing Jerome Thion, and barn-storming Biarritz No 8 Imanol Hardinordoquy coming in for Julien Bonnaire. Marconnet will win his 70th cap against the Irish, making him France’s most-capped prop.
Milloud, Thion and Bonnaire all drop to the bench, along with winger Cedric Heymans, replaced in the starting XV announced Tuesday by Toulouse team-mate Vincent Clerc.
The final change sees Perpignan centre David Marty in for Florian Fritz, who has dropped out of the Six Nations squad after injuring his tibia in the mauling of Italy last Saturday.
“The players who are out of the team are not at fault,” insisted Laporte.
But Laporte did say that the selection of Harinordoquy came on the back of a poor French lineout display against Italy — eight line-outs were lost on the French throw.
“Imanol is, perhaps more so than Julien Bonnaire, a better lineout player,” he said.
French manager Jo Maso warned that there would be further changes for the game against Wales in Paris on February 24.
“There will be still more changes for the match against Wales. In the meantime, the selected players will have the chance on Sunday to prove to us that the victory in Italy was not simply a flash in the pan.”
Meanwhile, England boss Brian Ashton has moved to allay fears about former captain Martin Corry’s fitness for the RBS 6 Nations appointment with Italy at Twickenham on Saturday.
While full-back Iain Balshaw will need to show no ill-effects from a groin problem in training today — otherwise his Gloucester Olly Morgan stands by for a second successive Six Nations start — Corry is on a course of antibiotics.
Ashton said: “Martin has got an infection in his arm, and he is on a course of antibiotics. We are not concerned at this stage.”
Balshaw missed the 42-20 victory over Scotland that launched England’s tournament in thrilling fashion after being injured during training three days before the game, and D-day now looms.
“Iain ran in a straight line about 80% yesterday, and he was able to run in a weaving line today.”
Ashton added: “All the signs are he is going to be fine to take a full part in training tomorrow. He’s got to come through that, and if he doesn’t, we will put Olly Morgan back in.’’
“It wasn’t the easiest decision (recalling Balshaw). When you bring a young player in at very short notice for his first cap and then he has a half-decent game, it is always a difficult conversation to turn around and say ‘thanks very much, the other guy is fit again’.
“But Iain Balshaw was the guy we selected on form for the first game, and if he’s back and fit again this week, then it is a natural selection to put him back in there again.”
While England now switch attention to an Italian side reeling from a 39-3 home defeat against France last weekend, excitement has hardly subsided following fly-half Jonny Wilkinson’s record-breaking Calcutta Cup display.
His 27-point haul in a first England appearance since the 2003 World Cup final underlined the Newcastle star’s astounding ability to perform when it matters most.
Ashton said: “It is difficult to say whether I was surprised or whether I wasn’t (by his performance). To actually do it at international level after a gap of more than three years must have been special for him. I knew he had the technical ability, He told me that physically and mentally he was fine, but to actually put it all together like that was quite a performance.”
Popular perception is that Wilkinson and Co will steam-roller the Italians, whose three previous Twickenham Six Nations visits saw them concede a total of 159 points.
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