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Castres five-eighth Remi Tales has been recalled into the 30-strong French squad to prepare for the Six Nations rugby match against Wales on February 21 in Cardiff.
The 29-year-old Tales held the No.10 jersey for the November Test matches before picking up a neck injury while playing for his club in the European Cup in mid-January.
His return means there is no place in the squad for the experienced Francois Trinh-Duc of Montpellier who came on as a second-half replacement in Sunday’s 30-10 win over Italy in Paris.
“Remi was the starter at fly-half for the November Tests and he had two weeks of preparation for us (before the injury),” said coach Philippe Saint-Andre.
“All the signs are good. He is back in training and he should be playing for Castres this weekend.
“It is not anything against Trinh-Duc. It’s just logical in the way we are doing things.”
France have two wins under their belt, having defeated England 26-24, and a win in Cardiff would set them up nicely for a tilt at another grand slam after finishing with the wooden spoon last year.
Also called up into the preparation squad is Clermont back-rower Alexandre Lapandry, who won his last cap against Argentina in June, 2012.
“We wanted a running-scrapper back-row player and he fits the bill. He knows the ropes and has already been capped,” said Saint-Andre.
But there was no recall for talented halfback Morgan Parra, who proved he was back to his best after a long injury layoff by scoring all 25 points for Clermont in the Top-14 clash with Stade Francais on Saturday.
“We are happy that Morgan Parra is back in his top form and is scoring points. We have him in reserve. But when you start with a group and with scrum halves who have produced quality games, we are not going to change a winning combination.”
French squad: Forwards: Thomas Domingo, Yannick Forestier, Benjamin Kayser, Dimitri Szarzewski, Nicolas Mas, Rabah Slimani, Alexandre Flanquart, Yoann Maestri, Pascal Pap, Sbastien Vahaamahina, Virgile Bruni, Ibrahim Diarra, Alexandre Lapandry, Bernard Le Roux, Yannick Nyanga, Damien Chouly, Louis Picamoles.
Backs: Jean-Marc Doussain, Maxime Machenaud, Jules Plisson, Remi Tales, Mathieu Bastareaud, Gal Fickou, Wesley Fofana, Maxime Mermoz, Marc Andreu, Yoann Huget, Maxime Mdard, Hugo Bonneval, Brice Dulin.
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