France shift Romain Ntamack to 10 as Matthieu Jalibert is dropped; Jonathan Danty starts at centre, Peato Mauvaka at hooker, Paul Willemse at lock, Gregory Alldritt at No 8; All Blacks bring in Aaron Smith, Sam Cane, Dane Coles, George Bridge, Akira Ioane, Quinn Tupaea and Richie Mo'unga.
Friday 19 November 2021 12:21, UK
Mercurial Romain Ntamack has been restored to fly-half to renew his half-back partnership with captain Antoine Dupont when France face New Zealand at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Ntamack played at inside-centre in Test wins over Argentina and Georgia earlier this month to allow coach Fabien Galthie to field Matthieu Jalibert in the number 10 jersey, but the latter has dropped to the bench for Saturday.
"We had two Tests to try this association (of Ntamack and Jalibert) out and after a dozen training sessions and those two Tests, we've decided to change our lineup," Galthie told media.
"Gael Fickou and Jonathan Danty have a lot of experience together at centre and Romain and Antoine also have experience together.
"So we picked that formula to start the game. It's a performance-oriented choice, not a choice by default."
Danty takes Ntamack's place among the centres, where he will partner Fickou, while the back-three is made up of wings Gabin Villiere and Damian Penaud, with Melvyn Jaminet at full-back.
"Sometimes it makes sense to abandon possession, sometimes it's the most intelligent thing to do. Our goal is to catch the opponent's defence by surprise, make them feel like they have no guarantees," Galthie added.
Francois Cros comes into the loose forwards in place of Sekou Makalou, with Anthony Jelonch switching from the number six to seven jersey and Gregory Alldritt at the back of the scrum.
Paul Willemse is recalled at lock to partner Cameron Woki, while the front-row is made up of props Uini Atonio and Cyril Baille, and hooker Peato Mauvaka.
France's last home win against the All Blacks was a 42-33 victory in Marseille in 2000, while their previous win in Paris came in 1973.
New Zealand lost 29-20 against Ireland last weekend but Galthie insisted Les Bleus would not copy the Irish.
"It was a different game...we're France, not Ireland," he said. "We have our own history that we've started two years ago. Our opponents won't be the same ones who were in Dublin.
For the All Blacks, experienced heads Aaron Smith, Dane Coles and former captain Sam Cane have been recalled.
The All Blacks reacted to losing to Ireland 29-20 last weekend in Dublin with seven changes, two enforced by injuries to inside backs Beauden Barrett (concussion) and Anton Lienert-Brown (shoulder).
Smith joined the All Blacks as scrum-half injury cover last week after Brad Weber's nose was broken against Italy. He starts his 102nd Test with Weber as backup.
Coles came off the bench against Ireland for his 79th cap but for the Test at Stade de France he has displaced try-scorer Codie Taylor, who was is left out with Samisoni Taukei'aho as back-up.
Cane, coming back from long-term injuries like Coles, featured against Italy nearly two weeks ago and was named instead of Dalton Papali'i, who put in an impressive 28-tackle shift against Ireland.
Fly-half Richie Mo'unga remains where he finished against Ireland after Barrett was injured, and Quinn Tupaea is preferred ahead of David Havili, who stays on the bench. George Bridge has taken over the left wing from Sevu Reece.
The only other change in the pack beside Coles and Cane is another new flanker in Akira Ioane on the blindside for Ethan Blackadder, who is dropped from the matchday 23.
"It's a big statement game for us, and we know we have to respond from the Irish performance," All Blacks coach Ian Foster said on Thursday, with the All Blacks having won their last Test in Paris in 2017 by 38-18.
"(We) have changed things up a bit for this final test to maximize the energy within the whole group...a chance to bring some fresh players in, and that's going to be vital for us."
France: 15 Melvyn Jaminet, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Gabin Villiere, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c); 1 Cyril Baille, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 3 Uini Atonio, 4 Cameron Woki, 5 Paul Willemse, 6 Francois Cros, 7 Anthony Jelonch, 8 Gregory Alldritt.
Replacements: 16 Gaetan Barlot, 17 Jean Baptiste Gros, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Thibaud Flament, 21 Dylan Cretin, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Matthieu Jalibert.
New Zealand: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mounga, 9 Aaron Smith; 1 Joe Moody, 2 Dane Coles, 3 Nepo Laulala, 4 Brodie Retallick, 5 Sam Whitelock (c), 6 Akira Ioane, 7 Sam Cane, 8 Ardie Savea.
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukeiaho, 17 George Bower, 18 Ofa Tuungafasi, 19 Tupou Vaai, 20 Shannon Frizell, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 David Havili.
