Just like Simon Middleton, Annick Hayraud has rung the changes in her selection to play England in Lille on Friday evening. To some extent her hand was forced, with players returning to the 7s squad, but Romane Ménager unexpectedly remains to provide a major challenge.
The Squad:
15 Jessy Trémoulière
14 Caroline Boujard
13 Maëlle Filopon
12 Gabrielle Vernier
11 Elise Pignot
10 Morgane Peyronnet
9 Pauline Bourdon
1 Annaëlle Deshayes
2 Agathe Sochat
3 Rose Bernadou
4 Madoussou Fall
5 Safi N’Diaye
6 Julie Annery
7 Gaëlle Hermet (captain)
8 Romane Ménager
Bench :
16 Caroline Thomas
17 Lise Arricastre
18 Clara Joyeux
19 Coumba Diallo
20 Laure Touyé
21 Laure Sansus
22 Camille Imart
23 Emilie Boulard
Two expected rotations show Jessy Trémoulière back at No 15 and Pauline Bourdon at scrum-half. The centres have played together against England before, but Elise Pignot is drafted in at left-wing in Cyrielle Banet’s absence. She took a knock to the leg last Saturday. Morgane Peyronnet replaces Caroline Drouin at outside-half.
The formidable front five remain, with Julie Annery making a welcome return on the blind side.
Not all the changes add to France’s strength, but they have a better chance of ending the horrible run of eight losses here in the north of France than they have had for a while.
It’s hard to see England’s pack righting its deficiencies at the set-scrum inside six days. France need to exploit this superiority more effectively than at the Stoop, where they failed to get over the line.
Another low-scoring game would be a surprise, but the defences on Saturday approached the heroic, and errors in attack thwarted both sides throughout. Only a quickly tapped penalty by Poppy Cleall could break the deadlock.
Now to see some fancy stuff from two talented back-lines.
