Ramos at 10 as France go 7-1 in Rome
Yesterday at 11:23 AM
France head coach Fabien Galthie shifts Thomas Ramos to flyhalf, while selecting seven forwards on the bench for Sunday’s Six Nations Test against Italy.
Ramos, who played the first two Six Nations matches this year at fullback, will run out in the No 10 jersey in Rome.
Ramos will partner his Toulouse teammate Antoine Dupont at halfback on Sunday after Galthie dispensed with Mathieu Jalibert earlier in the week.
Jalibert, who was himself covering for the suspended Romain Ntamack, has paid the price for a mediocre game in the 26-25 defeat by England at Twickenham which saw him subbed off after 66 minutes with scrumhalf Dupont taking over at 10.
Leo Barre, who was a breakout star for the French in last year's Six Nations, takes over Ramos' role at full-back for his first game of the tournament.
Damian Penaud, who needs just one try to equal Serge Blanco's record of 38 for France, has also been left out after an indifferent game against the English.
Penaud missed the November Tests with a lung virus and was absent from the victory over Wales with a toe issue. His place goes to Pau winger Theo Attisogbe who played the opener against the Welsh, scoring two tries in France's 43-0 thrashing.
TEAM: Azzurri lose speedster for Les Bleus clash
Galthie has stuck with the centre pairing of Pierre-Louis Barassi and Yoram Moefana even though the experienced Gael Fickou is available again after missing the first two rounds through injury.
The one change in the forwards sees a new pair of locks with Mickael Guillard, who has been on the bench thus far in the tournament, partnering Thibaud Flament who returns from injury. They replace Emmanuel Meafou, who is out with a lung infection, and Alexandre Roumat who drops to the bench.
Galthie has gone for a 7-1 split on the bench with Maxime Lucu the only back, with fit-again Toulouse flanker Anthony Jelonch set to make his first appearance for Les Bleus since the World Cup quarter-final exit against South Africa in 2023.
It will be the 50th meeting between the two teams with France well ahead on the results record, having won 45 and lost three.
Their most recent encounter in last year's Six Nations in Lille finished 13-13, the only draw in their shared history.
FRANCE – 15 Leo Barre, 14 Theo Attissogbe, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Antoine Dupont (c) 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 François Cros, 5 Mickaël Guillard, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Bench: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Alexandre Roumat, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Anthony Jelonch, 23 Maxime Lucu.
Six Nations round 3 fixtures:
Saturday
Wales vs Ireland, Cardiff, 4.15pm
England vs Scotland, London, 6.45pm
Sunday
Italy vs France, Rome, 5pm
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
The post Ramos at 10 as France go 7-1 in Rome appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
