France’s hopes of ending a 24-year Australian drought have suffered a huge blow with inspirational captain Thierry Dusautoir ruled out of the first rugby Test against the Wallabies.
Les Bleus coach Phillipe Saint-Andre pulled a major surprise on Wednesday night by preferring to let Dusautoir overcome an arm problem instead of risking him on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium.
The flanker is only two matches back from arm surgery after a torn biceps kept him sidelined for four months and Saint-Andre opted to rest him after he pulled up sore from training on the weekend.
Although he finished the season with Toulouse, Dusautoir had been wary about travelling to Australia but the coach had been keen to have his skipper play as much as possible with the World Cup 15 months away.
“He is not 100 per cent yet so we prefer to give him one week off to be ready for the second Test,” said Saint-Andre.
Veteran prop Nicolas Mas will now captain the French while South African-born Bernard Le Roux replaces Dusautoir in the back-row.
The loss of the 2011 IRB player of the year means Les Bleus will be without half a dozen of their best players as they search for their first win on Australian soil since 1990.
Saint-Andre has rested four players involved in the weekend’s Top 14 final between Toulon and Castres, while also putting Remi Lamerat and Brice Dulin on the bench.
But the coach has selected Frederic Michalak to start at No.10 despite the veteran flyhalf only flying into Brisbane on Tuesday morning.
Michalak, 31, was left out of Toulon’s star-studded 23-man side for the Top 14 decider but remained in France to watch Jonny Wilkinson and Matt Giteau lead their team to the championship.
With first-choice five-eighth Remi Tales playing for Castres, Saint-Andre was also mulling over whether to play halfback Morgan Parra at No.10 for the first time since the 2011 World Cup final.
But he was confident Michalak would overcome jet lag and four weeks without a game.
“When we picked the squad (last month) he had played three games consecutively at flyhalf and three times in the French League in front of Jonny Wilkinson,” Saint-Andre said. “He did very well and his kicking was 90 percent.
“He’s keen, he’s focussed, he’s keen to start with the No.10 on his back. He wants to show he’s a good footballer.”
Uncapped winger Felix Le Bourhis was the other selection shock, picked to make his debut ahead of Maxime Medard.
France: Hugo Bonneval, Yohann Huget, Gael Fickou, Wesley Fofana, Felix Le Bourhis, Frederic Michalak, Maxime Machenaud; Damien Chouly, Bernard Le Roux, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Yoann Maestri, Sebastien Vahaamahina, Nicolas Mas, Guilhelm Guirado, Thomas Domingo. Res: Christopher Tolofua, Vincent Debaty, Rabah Slimani, Alexandre Flanquart, Antoine Burban, Morgan Parra, Remi Lamerat, Brice Dulin.
Tane Mahuta
Guest
And Faletau, Heaslip and Vunipola. Hes 1 of the best but hes got a lot of comp for that claim.
Mike
Guest
I'm surprised at the selection of Michalak for the first test. I can see PSA wants to rest Tales after Top 14, but Michalak has the opposite problem. So why not start parra? - he is no more or less a 10 than Michalak. No surprises in front row. I agree with comment above - I don't think France will suffer by having Le Roux. Anyway, bring it on.
Mike
Guest
"PSA is clearly conceding the Brisbane test" I hope you told him that... :)
Amateur Hour
Guest
This will have Spiro seething about a global season again, and probay rightly so.
44bottles
Guest
"Picamoles, the best 8 in the NH" I'd say Sergio Parisse would have something to say about that.
Riccardo
Guest
First the non-selection of Trinh-Duc, now no Parra, Picamoles or Dusautoir. This Test represents the best opportunity for Les Bleus to get up on the Wallabies and PSA may have missed a trick. I was looking forward to seeing that French back-row take it to their counterparts but have now changed my pick.
Rexthegod
Guest
Thank you Scott. You tell us more about what's going to happen than Clark, Martin, Kearns and Horan tell us after it's happened. For one thing, they're all too busy trying to work in an adjective like brilliant or fantastic to describe run-of-the-mill play. However, my main peeve is not the folks who call the game but the scraped up teams that are taking the field against the Wallabies and the ABs this Saturday. It's a little like the St Johns Ambulance team playing the convalescent all stars. Like a lot of people I think this Wallaby side is a curious one with such unintimidating locks. PSA has clearly taken advantage of that by picking Varhaamahina instead of the lighter Flankquart. I take your point about shifting our best centre to the wing but you'll have to admit he's no streak of lightning finisher. Nobody's sure if we're catching a break with Micho chosen at 10. I've watched Remi Tales and while he's no Mark Ella he doesn't make huge mistakes something that Micho is quite capable of. Micho is also capable of making numerous breaks and kicking penalties like a dream. So it's not just a case of which equipe de France turns up but which Micho turns up. Not sure why PSA is not going with Parra. He's healthy so I hear. Reading the French fans' comments on the Midi-Olympique website this morning they're mad as hell at PSA. Unhappy with the tight policy of a game at the other end of the earth on the heels of a draining final at home. As they should be. They don't hold out much hope, specially with the absence of their captain. But it must be admitted that even with Dusautoir a few years ago the WBs ran in seven tries. But that was when we had Beale, JOC and Mitchell doing the running. I'm betting that Folau will score in all three tests. Perhaps more than once. And that they'll also be a total aggregate of three to four tries credited to the Fofana-Fickou-Huget axis.
Who Needs Melon
Roar Guru
A real blow. He is a talismanic figure in the French team and I was really keen to see him play again. Odds of a Wallaby victory must have jumped higher on this news.
TerryS
Guest
This is a cobbled together French side. PSA is clearly conceding the Brisbane test with the idea of winning in Melbourne and Sydney. We'd all been looking forward to a great battle between the two back rows in Brisbane but France is going with a brand new one - Chouly, Le Roux and Ouedraogo who's been out for a long time and is only just back. Picamoles, the best 8 in the NH, will be in the stands. Parra isn't starting and I don't believe Le Bourhis has ever played a test. Still, the French front five is formidable - Domingo and Mas are very strong and Maestri and Varhaamahina very big as is Saffer Le Roux. And at last we get to see Fofana and Fickou in tandem. And with Huget outside them this is a fast back line. So not one but two strange teams will be on the field at Suncorp.
Chan Wee
Guest
Just wondering wats up with the Touluse players? Even Picamoles is not in the team. have they been run to the ground b the club? the same club who sent a concussed fritz back to play !!!