Bastareaud drops to the bench

SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP:FRANCE WINGER Marc Andreu will start for the first time in the Six Nations game against Italy on Sunday after coach Marc Lievremont made two changes yesterday to his team for the game at Stade de France.

Andreu and centre David Marty replace Julien Malzieu and Mathieu Bastareaud, respectively, from the team that beat Wales last month in Cardiff to stay on course for a Grand Slam. Bastareaud will be on the bench.

Dimitri Yachvili is also on the bench after recovering from a knee injury, much to the displeasure of his club, Biarritz, who say that he has been rushed back too soon after making just one league appearance.

The forwards will be unchanged from the match against Wales, with number eight Imanol Harinordoquy fit to play despite sustaining a back injury at the weekend.

“We hesitated to go for a reshuffle, particularly for the forwards as the substitutes were really convincing when they came on in Cardiff,” Lievremont said yesterday.

“We decided to opt instead for a form of unity and continuity with our pack that has given us a lot of satisfaction since the start of the championship,” he added.

Lievremont said he was taking nothing for granted against Italy, who registered a rare Six Nations win by beating Scotland in their previous outing. “We do fear Italy,” he said. “It will be a tricky match because we are the clear favourites. Nobody’s thinking about England, nobody’s thinking about the grand slam,” he added.

“If we win (against Italy), we will be almost certain to win the championship. Then we can start thinking about the Grand Slam.”

Marty, 27, has scored five tries in his 13 Six Nations outings to date, though four of those appearances have come from the bench – including in all three of this season’s games.

He has scored two tries in the domestic Top 14 this season and will now have the opportunity to make an impact for his country from the outset.

Andreu, more usually a left wing, won his maiden cap as a last-minute replacement for Clement Poitrenaud during the thrilling win over Wales two weeks ago.

France held off a stirring home fightback at the Millennium Stadium to win 26-20 adding to the momentum of wins over Scotland and Ireland. They will be expected to win comfortably this week despite Italy’s battling displays this year, which would leave them to bid for the slam against England next Saturday in Paris.

FRANCE (v Italy, Stade de France, Sunday, kick-off 2.30pm): C Poitrenaud (Toulouse); M Andreu (Castres), D Marty (Perpignan), Y Jauzion (Toulouse), A Palisson (Brive); F Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), M Parra (Clermont Auvergne); T Domingo (Clermont Auvergne), W Servat (Toulouse), N Mas (Perpignan), L Nallet (Racing Metro), J Pierre (Clermont Auvergne) T Dusautoir (Toulouse, capt), J Bonnaire (Clermont Auvergne), I Harinordoquy (Biarritz). Replacements: D Szarzewski (Stade Français), J-B Poux (Toulouse), S Chabal (Racing Metro), A Lapandry (Clermont Auvergne), D Yachvili (Biarritz), M Bastareaud (Stade Français), J Malzieu (Clermont Auvergne).

ENGLAND (v Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday, kick-off 5pm): D Armitage (London Irish); M Cueto (Sale), M Tait (Sale), R Flutey (Brive), U Monye (Harlequins); J Wilkinson (Toulon), D Care (Harlequins); T Payne (Wasps), D Hartley (Northampton), D Cole (Leicester); L Deacon (Leicester), S Borthwick (Saracens, capt); J Haskell (Stade Français), J Worsley (Wasps), N Easter (Harlequins). Replacements: S Thompson (Brive), D Wilson (Bath), C Lawes (Northampton), L Moody (Leicester), B Youngs (Leicester), T Flood (Leicester), B Foden (Northampton).

SCOTLAND (v England) H Southwell (Stade Français); S Lamont (Scarlets), N De Luca (Edinburgh), G Morrison (Glasgow), M Evans (Glasgow); D Parks (Glasgow), C Cusiter (Glasgow, capt); A Jacobsen (Edinburgh), R Ford (Edinburgh), E Murray (Northampton); J Hamilton (Edinburgh), A Kellock (Glasgow); K Brown (Glasgow), J Barclay (Glasgow), J Beattie (Glasgow).

Replacements: S Lawson (Gloucester), G Cross (Edinburgh), N Hines (Leinster), A MacDonald (Edinburgh), R Lawson (Gloucester), P Godman (Edinburgh), S Danielli (Ulster).