Lucu in for Le Garrec as France make six changes for Fiji test

France coach Fabien Galthie looks on
France coach Fabien Galthie looks onReuters / Benoit Tessier

Scrum-half Maxime Lucu will start for France against Fiji in Bordeaux on Saturday, replacing Nolann Le Garrec, who has been ruled out of the Autumn series due to a thigh injury, the French team said on Thursday.

Coach Fabien Galthie has made six changes to the side beaten 32-17 by world champions South Africa at the Stade de France last weekend.

The reshuffle includes the return of captain Gregory Alldritt at number eight in place of Mickael Guillard.

"We are very ambitious because we are the France team," Galthie told a press conference.

"At number eight for the past three years, Greg has been the one holding things together. He is a player of great quality, of international class. He also needs to regenerate," he said.

France are looking to improve after being dominated at the breakdown and lacking fluency in attack against the Springboks, who played the entire second half with 14 men.

Fiji, with their physical offloading game, offer another demanding test as Les Bleus seek a more disciplined performance.

France team: 15-Thomas Ramos, 14-Damian Penaud, 13-Nicolas Depoortere, 12-Pierre-Louis Barassi, 11-Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10-Romain Ntamack, 9-Maxime Lucu, 8-Gregory Alldritt (captain), 7-Oscar Jegou, 6-Anthony Jelonch, 5-Emmanuel Meafou, 4-Charles Ollivon, 3-Regis Montagne, 2-Julien Marchand, 1-Jean-Baptiste Gros

Replacements: 16-Maxime Lamothe, 17-Rodrigue Neti, 18-Thomas Laclayat, 19-Romain Taofifenua, 20-Hugo Auradou, 21-Paul Boudehent, 22-Baptiste Jauneau, 23-Emilien Gailleton

Follow the game with Flashscore.

Wil jij jouw toestemming voor het tonen van reclames voor weddenschappen intrekken?
Ja, verander instellingen