France coach Fabien Galthié is not taking any risks with their match in Pool A against Namibia on Thursday at 21:00 in Marseille at the Stade Vélodrome.
Galthié made 12 changes to the side that struggled to get the better of a spirited Uruguay last Thursday. He selected a strong 23 for this match, including Cyril Baille and Jonathan Danty who are both eager for game time on their return from injury, and Antoine Dupont, who has yet to lose a match at home since taking over as captain.
Only Cameron Woki, Louis Bielle Biarry, and Anthony Jelonch retain their spots in the starting line-up from Lille – and the latter would have moved to the flank but for a slight injury concern over Grégory Alldritt.
On Namibia’s progress as a rugby nation, general manager Raphaël Ibanez said "It's difficult to judge and look back on past performances. Namibia has always figured well in the World Cup. They fully deserve their place in the tournament.
"There are players whose life paths are different from ours in France and Europe. Some players go to South Africa and other countries to find game-time. For them, it's not always easy to build a group and a collective. But when it comes to wearing the jersey with the national team, there's no doubt about their commitment."
The Welwitschias, has made nine changes to their starting XV from their last game against New Zealand, with five in the forward pack and four in the back-line. Only Cliven Loubser, Gerswin Mouton, Johan Retief, Johan Coetzee, Prince Gaoseb and captain Johan Deysel have retained their places in the run-on team.
Namibia head coach Allister Coetzee, who explained their selection said "It’s important to give every player coming to a World Cup an opportunity to play. Our whole mindset was building towards the last game and see what the players can offer and get to our best possible team for the last game."
"It’s a great experience for a lot of youngsters and players playing in their first World Cup. That is one of our objectives, to make sure we grow depth in our squad, especially against tier-one nations. We don’t have the opportunity to play against tier-one nations on a regular basis so it’s important for us."
Teams:
France: 1 Cyril Baille, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 3 Uini Atonio, 4 Cameron Woki, 5 Thibaud Flament, 6 François Cros, 7 Charles Ollivon, 8 Anthony Jelonch, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 12 Jonathan Danty, 13 Gaël Fickou, 14 Damian Penaud, 15 Thomas Ramos. Replacements: 16 Pierre Bourgarit, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Paul Boudehent, 21 Baptiste Couilloud, 22 Yoram Moefana, 23 Melvyn Jaminet.
Namibia: 1 Desiderius Sethie, 2 Louis van der Westhuizen, 3 Johan Coetzee, 4 Mahepisa Tjeriko, 5 Adriaan Ludick, 6 Max Katjijeko, 7 Johan Retief, 8 Prince Gaoseb, 9 Jacques Theron, 10 Cliven Loubser, 11 JC Greyling, 12 Danco Burger, 13 Johan Deysel (c), 14 Gerswin Mouton, 15 Andre van der Bergh. Replacements: 16 Obert Nortje, 17 Jason Benade, 18 Haitembu Shifuka, 19 PJ Van Lill, 20 Richard Hardwick, 21 Oela Blaauw, 22 Alcino Izaacs, 23 Divan Rossouw.
