France have made seven changes for the return rugby international against the Wallabies on Saturday.
The French, who went down 34-13 to the Australians in Sydney last Saturday, on Tuesday rejigged their starting lineup.
Fullback Pepito Elhorga (shoulder) and tight-head prop Lionel Faure (knee) were unavailable with injuries from last weekend’s opening Test.
Coach Marc Lievremont switched Biarritz’s Benjamin Thiiry from the left wing to fullback and made four other changes in the backline.
Toulouse’s Maxime Mermoz will partner Albi’s Thibault Lacroix in the centers and Bourgoin’s David Janin will take the left wing spot.
There will be a new scrum-half combination with Montpellier’s Francois Trinh-Duc switched from the centers to fly-half to partner Castres scrum-half Sebastien Tillous-Borde.
Dimitri Yachvili has been named as a replacement and last week’s fly-half Benjamin Boyet was left out all together.
Montpeller’s Fulgence Ouedraogo was shifted to number eight with Matthieu Lihvremont of Dax, the younger brother of the national coach, named with Imanol Harinordoquy as the two flankers.
Renaud Boyoud (Dax) and Pierre Correia (Albi) are the new props with Sale’s Sebastien Bruno remaining as hooker.
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday fought through a second-set slump to post a roller-coaster 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set, but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third set as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. “It was just a roller coaster,” said the second
NEXT ROUND: World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened their title defenses with straight-sets wins, while Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz also advanced Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The men’s and women’s top seeds, each ranked No. 1 in the world, were both competing for the first time since Wimbledon, where Sinner lifted the title and Sabalenka bowed out in the women’s semi-finals. Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in steamy afternoon weather, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1 under the lights of the night session. Sabalenka needed 54 minutes and a service break in the final game
RSS