Six Nations - France call up two new caps
France manager Philippe Saint-Andre named uncapped lock Yoann Maestri and centre Wesley Fofana plus prop David Attoub on Thursday in his squad for the opening Six Nations championship match against Italy at the Stade de France on February 4.
Saint-Andre, who took over from Marc Lievremont after last year's World Cup, included 17 players from the squad who lost the final against hosts New Zealand by a point, including 14 of the starting lineup.
Prop David Attoub, who had not been named in the initial 30-man squad this month, was a surprise inclusion because of Luc Ducalcon's lack of match time with Castres.
"He (Ducalcon) has only played 25 minutes with his club. We wanted to include Attoub, who is a regular starter with Stade Francais as a tighthead prop. And we know the Italians' scrum is very good," St Andre told a news conference. Attoub won his only cap in June 2006.
France squad:
Backs - Morgan Parra, Dimitri Yachvili, François Trinh-Duc, Lionel Beauxis, Aurelien Rougerie, Maxime Mermoz, Wesley Fofana, Vincent Clerc, Julien Malzieu, Maxime Medard.
Forwards - David Attoub, Vincent Debaty, Nicolas Mas, Jean-Baptiste Poux, William Servat, Dimitri Szarzewski, Pascal Pape, Yoann Maestri, Lionel Nallet, Julien Bonnaire, Thierry Dusautoir, Louis Picamoles, Imanol Harinordoquy
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Yes, a must win match for both... But I'd say the Irish might be the toughest nut considering they have no major injury, besides BOD , and they are in fine form in the Heinekein cup...
All squad members are aware of the duty required. The trip to Cardiff will be like a major test match; this is a must win match.
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