France coach Philippe Saint-Andre has handed winger Remy Grosso his international debut after retaining just three players from the side that beat Romania for Thursday’s clash with Canada.
Les Bleus, who finished a disappointing fourth at the 2015 RBS 6 Nations, have won two from two at the Rugby World Cup so far. Brice Dulin, Bernard Le Roux and Wesley Fofana keep their places in the starting XV while the likes of skipper Thierry Dusautoir and Frederic Michalak – who was so impressive in France’s opening victory over Italy – come back in. And Castres winger Grosso receives his first chance to impress in a Les Bleus shirt after being called up as an injury replacement to the squad for Yoann Huget. “Remy Grosso is a top player with many qualities and he has quickly integrated into the group,” said Saint-Andre. “All nations are well prepared at the World Cup, there are no small teams. It’s practically a knockout. It’s an open competition and we’re focusing on going as far as possible. “We know we must improve on rucks and discipline. These are the two areas of work for Thursday.” France starting XV to play Canada: 15. Scott Spedding 14. Remy Grosso 13. Mathieu Bastareaud 12. Wesley Fofana 11. Brice Dulin 10. Frederic Michalak 9. Sebastien Tillous-Borde 1. Eddy Ben Arous 2. Guilhem Guirado 3. Rabah Slimani 4. Pascal Pape 5. Yoann Maestri 6. Thierry Dusautoir (c) 7. Bernard Le Roux 8. Damien Chouly Replacements: 16. Benjamin Kayser 17. Vincent Debaty 18. Nicolas Mas 19. Yannick Nyanga 20. Fulgence Ouedraogo 21. Morgan Parra 22. Remi Tales 23. Alexandre Dumoulin
