MARCOUSSIS, 3 September – France coach Bernard Laporte has moved to counter Argentina's renowned scrummaging prowess by naming 13 forwards in his squad to face the Pumas at the Stade de France on Friday.
There are no surprises in the front row, where Olivier Milloud and Pieter De Villiers will join forces with their captain Raphael Ibanez.
In the second row, Jerome Thion will team with Toulouse lock Fabien Pelous, who Laporte says is "in great form and the man of the moment."
Behind them, Remy Martin has been picked for his tackling
ability, alongside Serge Betsen and Imanol Haridornoquy.
The French
coaching staff are delighted to have such strength in depth, with a further five
forwards to take their place on the bench.
French team manager Jo Maso
said: "When you select the team, you do it based on the players' qualities. It
is always pleasant to realise we have a list of such quality."
Scrum half Pierre Mignoni and fly half David Skrela will
look to maintain the excellent partnership they established during the 2007 Six
Nations. However, Jean-Baptiste Ellissade and Frederick Michalak will be
available to deputise from the bench.
Cedric Heymans will continue at
full back after giving a good account of himself in that position in the win
over Wales in Cardiff last month. Laporte said: "We needed more than a full back
and to put him in the starting line-up didn't seem detrimental."





