Lièvremont takes no chances

France head coach Marc Lièvremont has named a formidable team for Les Bleus' opening game against Japan on Saturday at North Harbour Stadium, Auckland.

Since his arrival in New Zealand, Lièvremont has reiterated that the Japanese must be shown respect.

The team announcement confirmed that the French head coach was being sincere.

There is no surprise in the front row - it was always likely that hooker William Servat, who needs game time, would start.

The same goes for Fabien Barcella, who was off the pace in France's warm-up match with Ireland in Dublin in August but who has recovered well from his injury. The partnership with Nicolas Mas offers dynamic power that could be terrifying if those three are on top of their game.

Peak form

As for reserve hooker Dimitri Szarzewski, he is "at the best of his form," according to Lièvremont.

"He's perhaps the player who has worked the most."

He and Servat are back at peak form, which means full cover for Les Bleus.
In the second row, Lionel Nallet and Julien Pierre will start. Pascal Papé will be on the bench but will no doubt enter the field. Those three seem to be slightly ahead of Romain Millo-Chluski.

In the back-row there will be a combination of experience (Thierry Dusautoir, the captain and Imanol Harinordoquy) and potential - Raphael Lakafia, 22, will play only his second international.

This means Louis Picamoles is left out, even though he showed positive signs in Dublin, but, as Lièvremont, pointed out, "he still has some refining to do".

The same goes for Fulgence Ouedraogo, who is "in super form" according to the head coach, but "needs to show something else". Those two will probably be given a chance against Canada.

Yachvili fully fit

If Francois Trinh-Duc was expected to make it in the halves, it wasn't as obvious for Dimitri Yachvili.

But the Biarritz player did all he could to return to his form of 2004-06 and he may have reached even higher standards.

Lièvremont praises Yachvili for his maturity and control, explaining that he is simply "at the top".

While Morgan Parra is converting his legitimate disappointment into added motivation, the competition between the two scrum halves can only benefit the squad.

Lièvremont had a more straightforward selection job for the backs. Three are injured (Alexis Palisson, Maxime Mermoz and Damien Traille), which made his task easier.

The attacking trio of Cédric Heymans, Vincent Clerc and Maxime Médard have proved their worth for Toulouse, and at centre Aurélien Rougerie and Fabrice Estebanez could be creative and their communication is good. They worked well together in Dublin, giving Gordon D'Arcy and Brian O'Driscoll a hard time.

Lièvremont insisted that this squad was "the best to beat Japan".