Bench role for Bastareaud

Mathieu Bastareaud will be on the bench when France continue their bid for an RBS 6 Nations grand slam against Italy on Sunday.

The powerful Stade Francais centre has impressed in the tournament to date and scored two tries in his side’s opening win over Scotland, but has been replaced by Perpignan’s David Marty in one of two changes by coach Marc Lievremont for the Stade de France clash.