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Cape Town - On the eve of their Rugby World Cup quarter-final against the All Blacks, France are reportedly contending with a player revolt against coach Philippe Saint-Andre.
A report in L’Obs Sport newspaper on Thursday stated that there is “bedlam” in the squad after the players decided that the coach is no longer fit to lead them, with suggestions that senior members of the squad took over team selection for Saturday’s match against the All Blacks in Cardiff.
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At the previous World Cup in New Zealand, there were suggestions of similar disharmony in the French camp, with Les Bleus progressing to the final despite friction between outgoing coach Marc Lievremont and the players.
In that World Cup, France lost to New Zealand and Tonga in the pool stage, but somehow still made it to the final, where they narrowly lost 8-7 to the All Blacks.
Saturday’s match at the Millennium Stadium is scheduled for 21:00 (SA time).
Teams:
France:
15 Scott Spedding, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Alexandre Dumoulin, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Brice Dulin, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Bernard le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Eddy Ben Arous
Substitutes: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Nicolas Mas, 19 Damien Chouly, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Remi Tales, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud
New Zealand:
15 Ben Smith, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett
Substitutes 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Sonny Bill Williams
