Paris – France are to keep faith with the same squad for their next Six Nations match with England, after this weekend's battling draw against Ireland, but there may be changes to the starting XV, their coach said on Monday.
Phillipe Saint-Andre announced an unchanged 23-man squad to the one picked for Sunday's rescheduled match at the Stade de France, describing the game as their “most successful” of the tournament after coming back from a first-half deficit to 17-17.
French coaches decided not to recall Biarritz scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili, who suffered a back problem early last month but has since shined in his return to club rugby.
The starting XV will be announced on Wednesday.
“There's a chance that the XV will be different,” Saint-Andre said.
Asked what aspects they would be working on this week, he added: “Respecting the game, especialy. You can't attack on the 22 metre line when you're outnumbered in international level.”
Sunday's draw still leaves France in the running to win the tournament. After the England match, the team plays Wales, who are the only country on course to win the Grand Slam.
Saint-Andre said little about opponents England but said his players should be buoyed by their performance against the Irish, as it meant they had still not lost a game.
“We could even have grabbed a win at the end of the match. We're still in the competition. We haven't yet lost and we can still win the Six Nations. It's up to us to prepare well for the match against England at the Stade de France on Sunday.”
Forwards: Jean-Baptiste Poux (Toulouse), Nicolas Mas (Perpignan), Vincent Debaty (Clermont), David Attoub (Stade Francais), Dimitri Szarzewski (Stade Francais), William Servat (Toulouse), Pascal Pape (Stade Français), Yoann Maestri (Toulouse), Lionel Nallet (Racing-Metro), Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse, capt.), Julien Bonnaire (Clermont), Imanol Harinordoquy (Biarritz), Louis Picamoles (Toulouse)
Backs: Morgan Parra (Clermont), Julien Dupuy (Stade Francais), François Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), Lionel Beauxis (Toulouse), Wesley Fofana (Clermont), Aurelien Rougerie (Clermont), Maxime Mermoz (Perpignan), Vincent Clerc (Toulouse), Julien Malzieu (Clermont), Clément Poitrenaud (Toulouse) – Sapa-AFP