Maso defends his scrum

France team manager Jo Maso has put up a stout defence of his under-fire pack ahead of the return match against England this weekend.

Les Bleus came away from Twickenham on Saturday with a hard-fought 21-15 victory, despite being dominated for large parts in the scrum and the line-out.

The squad for the home leg of the double-header against the world champions, which is being played in Marseille on Saturday night, was announced today and showed six changes – four coming in the forwards.

Maso admitted his pack were put under pressure by the English last weekend, but is not overly concerned about that department ahead of the rematch between the two northern-hemisphere giants.

He said: “The scrum has not been so bad when you look at it closely.

“We lost one ball against the head because of the English hooker, and another because of the foot of (number eight Julien) Bonnaire.

“We were never knocked over by a genuine shove. We have been deficient technically, but not physically, and we are going to improve.

“We won the match with a deficient scrum and an average line-out.

“It’s not all that bad – it is better to look at it with the perspective of the glass being half full, not half empty. You have to be positive.

“These are preparation matches, let’s not forget. They serve to iron out problems in your team.”

France were always going to rotate their squad for this weekend’s match, with selectors wanting to look at every player in the party ahead of the World Cup opener against Argentina on September 7.

Forwards Sebastien Bruno, Lionel Nallet, Thierry Dusautoir and Imanol Harinordoquy, who were all absent last weekend at Twickenham, return to the fold, with Dimitri Szarzewski, Sebastien Chabal, Serge Betsen and Remy Martin dropping out.

In the backs, Christophe Dominici replaces Vincent Clerc on the wing while centre David Marty is rested, allowing the fit-again Yannick Jauzion and Damien Traille to form a partnership in midfield.

“It is a logical turnover,” Maso added.

“Over the three matches, we want to rotate the squad and see each player in at least one match.”

France play Wales in Cardiff a week on Saturday.

Prop Sylvain Marconnet is again absent from the squad as he continues his recovery from long-term injury.

The Stade Francais star, who broke his leg during the RBS 6 Nations Championship, is still not fit and he will discover on Thursday if he is to be retained for the World Cup.

The French confirmed yesterday that Marconnet would be part of the 30-man squad which has to be submitted for the tournament by midnight today.

But Maso has said a final decision will be made after the prop has undergone medical checks.

He added: “We will make a decision following that – we will give him every chance to be able to recover and recuperate.

“He has worked hard since March 4, and shown a lot of enthusiasm and commitment.

“But it is better to take someone at 100% rather than Sylvain at 90%.”

If Marconnet does not make it, Nicolas Mas – who will be among the 22 on duty in Marseille – will be drafted into the squad on a permanent basis.