Ouedraogo handed recall

Fulgence Ouedraogo earned a reprieve today when he was recalled to the France squad to face Australia by coach Marc Lievremont.

The flanker was described as a “spoilt child” by Lievremont after he reacted in the press to being left out of the side to which beat Argentina 13-6.

But he was back in the side named by Lievremont today, alongside full-back Jerome Porical, who was also brought back into the starting XV.

Ouedraogo, 24, slides into the back row alongside Sebastien Chabal and Thierry Dusautoir, with Julien Bonnaire dropping to the bench.

Porical’s inclusion pushes Alexis Palisson to the wing, while Marc Andreu will be on the bench.

Lievremont was quoted on www.lequipe.com as saying: “His coverage of the field with his left foot and having two backs to cover the Australians’ long balls seemed interesting to us.”

Under intense scrutiny at the Stade de France on Saturday will be the Australia scrum.

Their weakness in the pack was exposed once again as they achieved a flattering 32-14 win over Italy at the weekend.

France forwards coach Didier Retiere said: “As a team they’re not very powerful in this area. They haven’t made the scrum their priority, but they are starting to.

“It would be wrong for us to focus on this area because the Australians are not looking for a showdown in the scrum, they’re looking to create movement.”

Lievremont admires the Wallabies’ ability to win in spite of their obvious weakness.

He said: “We must emphasise their ability to concede penalties without it affecting their performance. Their ability to suffer in this area but to go over and stay in the game is impressive.”