France head coach Marc Lievremont stressed the need for continuity in his new-look squad, despite making three changes for the RBS 6 Nations clash with England on Saturday week.

A front row that was battered into submission in the second half of last Saturday's 26-21 win against Ireland is surprisingly retained by Lievremont, with the trio of changes coming elsewhere in his 22.

Full-back Clement Poitrenaud, a member of Les Bleus' World Cup squad, returns in place of Anthony Floch, while locks Pascal Pape and Romain Millo-Chlusky come in for Arnaud Mela and Loic Jacquet.

Lievremont maintained the run-up to a clash with England, World Cup finalists last year, was not the time to make wholesale alterations and is happy to give his players another chance after a stuttering performance against the Irish.

"To change everything was not our wish," said the former Dax coach, whose side have won two from two in the tournament having beaten Scotland 27-6 in their opener.

"We want to work with continuity on a medium-term project. It is difficult to make a lot of changes before playing England.

"We were less happy after Ireland than after the Scotland game. So we are hoping for more from the squad in the latter stages of the tournament."

The front row is an area of concern for the French.

When prop Lionel Faure and hooker Dimitri Szarzewski were replaced by Julien Brugnaut and William Servat just after the interval against Ireland, the scrum went to pot, with Les Bleus even conceding a penalty try for repeated infringements there.

Brugnaut, the Dax prop, was one of the players to come under fire and some were tipping him to be replaced by Sylvain Marconnet, the 71-times-capped Stade Francais star who has just returned from a year out with a leg injury.

But Lievremont has faith in Brugnaut and the other front-row forwards he has retained.

"We believe in the potential of Julien, and we are convinced that it is going to happen for him," he added.

"We have gone with continuity - that is good for their psychology. And it isn't just the front row that we need to work on."

Marconnet has made just three substitute appearances for Stade Francais since his return and is not deemed ready by Lievremont.

"I have seen Sylvain come back, but it is not reasonable to integrate him into the group for an international match like this," the head coach said.

Millo-Chlusky has one cap for France dating back to June 2005 but is improving steadily at Toulouse, while Pape has had a great start to the season with new club Stade Francais.

He returns for Les Bleus after narrowly missing out on selection for the World Cup and then the first two Six Nations games.

Yannick Jauzion, France's star centre over the past few years, remains on the periphery, despite recovering from recent injury problems.

He was tipped to replace David Marty in the squad and join forces with Damien Traille in midfield but Lievremont said: "He is still in the process of coming back and is not yet at his full potential."

France last played England in the World Cup semi-final in October when they lost 14-9 in heartbreaking fashion.

England have struggled in the opening rounds of the Six Nations, losing at home to Wales at Twickenham in their opener before being forced to hold on to secure a tight victory over Italy in Rome on Sunday.

Les Bleus are scheduled to name their starting XV for the England match, which will be played at the Stade de France, on Tuesday.

More news from SportingLife.com