France enter they would be better off losing to New Zealand on Saturday, with the path to the World Cup final in mind but they will not be fielding a reserve team against the All Blacks, even if it has the whiff of experimentation.
The France coach, Marc Lièvremont, has opted to field two scrum-halves. Dimitri Yachvili will wear No9 and will have Morgan Parra as his half-back partner.
Parra did come on at fly-half for the last 19 minutes of France's opening World Cup match against Japan. His arrival coincided with the end of the Japanese revival but he admitted that he was surprised to be given the No10 jersey against New Zealand, even though France have a recent history of switching half-backs, most notably Jean-Baptiste Ellisalde and Frédéric Michalak. He is the sixth player in French history to start at both nine and 10 and only the second in the history of the World Cup.
Lièvremont said that France would not entertain the thought of losing, even though he accepted that finishing second in Pool A would be more preferable that topping it.
"We can play without pressure and will not be burdened by complexes," Lièvremont said. "Playing the All Blacks in New Zealand is a challenge unlike any other and never mind the outcome on Saturday, I hope we meet them again at Eden Park in next month's final."
France were the last team to defeat the All Blacks at Eden Park, back in 1994. Their team this weekend contain 10 of their strongest lineup. Most of Lièvremont's tinkering has been done behind the scrum but he remains without the injured tighthead prop Nicolas Mas.
France: Traille, Clerc, Rougerie, Mermoz, Médard, Parra, 9-Dimitri Yachvili, Picamoles, Bonnaire, Dusautoir (capt), Nallet, Pape, Ducalcon, Szarzewski, Poux. Replacements Servat, Barcella, Pierre, Harinordoquy, Trinh-Duc, Estebanez, Heymans.
South Africa: Lambie, Aplon, Fourie, F Steyn, Habana, M Steyn, Hougaard; Spies, Burger, Alberts, Rossouw, Botha, Van der Linde, Smit (capt), Steenkamp. Replacements Ralepelle, Mtawarira, Louw, Brussow, Du Preez, Pienaar, De Jongh.
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