Laporte makes five changes for Ireland clash

David Skrela passes the ball during a training session at the National Rugby Center in Marcoussis, France, on Tuesday. PHOTO: AP

France coach Bernard Laporte has made five changes to the team to play Ireland in the Six Nations in Dublin on Sunday from the one that hammered Italy 39-3 on the tournament's opening weekend.

Three changes come in the pack, Stade Francais prop Sylvain Marconnet taking the place of Olivier Milloud, Castres lock Pascal Pape replacing Jerome Thion and barn-storming Biarritz No. 8 Imanol Hardinordoquy coming in for Julien Bonnaire.

Marconnet will win his 70th cap against the Irish, making him France's most-capped prop.

Milloud, Thion and Bonnaire all drop to the bench, along with winger Cedric Heymans, replaced in the starting XV announced on Tuesday by Toulouse teammate Vincent Clerc.

The final change sees Perpignan centre David Marty in for Florian Fritz, who has dropped out of the Six Nations squad after injuring his tibia in the mauling of Italy last Saturday.

"The five changes are logical given our strategy, which is to give game time to the maximum number of players," France manager Jo Maso said.

"The players who are out of the team are not at fault," coach Laporte insisted.

But Laporte did say that the selection of Harinordoquy came on the back of a poor lineout display against Italy -- eight lineouts were lost on the French throw.

"Imanol is, perhaps more so than Julien Bonnaire, a better lineout player," he said.

Maso warned that there would be further team changes for the game against Wales in Paris on Feb. 24.

"There will be still more changes for the match against Wales. It's decided and we will follow our philosophy. In the meantime, the selected players will have the chance on Sunday to prove to us that the victory in Italy was not simply a flash in the pan," he said.

France team:

Clement Poitrenaud, Vincent Clerc, David Marty, Yannick Jauzion, Christophe Dominici, David Skrela, Pierre Mignoni, Imanol Harinordoquy, Sebastien Chabal, Serge Betsen, Pascal Pape, Lionel Nallet, Pieter De Villiers, Raphael Ibanez, Sylvain Marconnet.

Replacements: Sebastien Bruno, Olivier Milloud, Jerome Thion, Julien Bonnaire, Dimitri Yachvili, Lionel Beauxis, Cedric Heymans.