Matthieu Jalibert will start at fly-half for France against England at Twickenham on Saturday in the absence of the suspended Romain Ntamack.
Jalibert asked to be sent back to his Bordeaux club when he found out he was second in the pecking order at fly-half during last November’s autumn series but coach Fabien Galthie has not held it against the 26-year-old.
“There is no power struggle with the player. The power struggle is on the field, for us,” Galthie told a news conference on Thursday.
“When you make decisions you work on a daily basis on the players’ form and the possible pairings. When we saw Ntamack picked up a red card we started to work with the staff right away and Matthieu Jalibert was the obvious choice. He was always eligible.
“We felt he needed some air to regenerate. Our proposal was for him to get out of this closed-door environment to regenerate but we stayed in contact with him and his club.”
Ntamack picked up a yellow card for a shoulder-to-head tackle on Ben Thomas late in France’s 43-0 drubbing of Wales in their opening Six Nations fixture on Friday, which was upgraded to a red card following a review.
The disciplinary committee determined that the mid-range entry point of six weeks/matches was appropriate but reduced it to three after the player accepted he committed an act of foul play, along with Ntamack’s exemplary disciplinary record.
In the only other change for France, Damian Penaud, who missed the Wales game with a toe injury, will start on the wing.
France:
Jean-Baptiste Gros, Peato Mauvaka, Uini Atonio, Alexandre Roumat, Emmanuel Meafo, Francois Cros, Paul Boudehent, Gregory Alldritt, Antoine Dupont (captain), Matthieu Jalibert, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Yoram Moefana, Pierre-Louis Barassi Damian Penaud, Thomas Ramos.
Replacements: Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille, Georges-Henri Colombe, Hugo Auradou, Mickael Guillard, Oscar Jegou, Nolann Le Garrec, Emilien Gailleton.
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England suffer biggest home defeat vs. France
Relive three classic Six Nations games between England and France ahead of their clash at the Twickenham this weekend.
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– Tom Hamilton’s analysis from Dublin: Another painful case of déjà vu for England
– James Regan’s take from Paris: Antoine Dupont produces virtuoso display
– NEWS: England winger Cadan Murley ruled out of France clash
– WATCH: Is Ireland’s Caelan Doris nailed on to be Lions captain?
– Six Nations and Women’s Six Nations: Full fixture list
