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Nov 9, 2006

France on Thursday recalled number eight Elvis Vermeulen, three years after he won the last of his three caps, in their starting line-up for the first test against New Zealand.

Coach Bernard Laporte handed his second start at flyhalf to Damien Traille, who won 45 of his 46 caps as inside centre.

He selected 22-year-old hooker Dimitri Szarzewski ahead of the experienced Raphael Ibanez and Thierry Dusautoir ahead of Remy Martin as flanker to replace Serge Betsen, who was omitted from the 22-player squad due to a lack of form.

France will face the All Blacks on Saturday in Lyon before hosting them a week later at the Stade de France.

New Zealand thrashed them 45-6 the last time the two teams met in November 2004.

"We know the All Blacks, they are currently the best team in the world. They have lost only two of the 26 matches they have played in three years," said Laporte.

"The last time we faced them they smashed us to pieces. Saturday's test will be a real challenge. We selected in-form players to answer this challenge."

Laporte said the 27-year-old Vermeulen, who won his three caps during tours to South Africa in 2001 and New Zealand in 2003, had been recalled to add physical power to the backrow.

"We dropped him before the 2003 World Cup because he lacked consistency and was too slow around the pitch but he has done a lot of work. He has lost 7kg during the summer without losing his power and has improved his speed," the French coach added.

"He deserved another opportunity to prove his worth, it's up to him now to prove that he deserves to be a member of our World Cup squad."

"Calculated risk"

Team manager Jo Maso stressed that the three backrowers named for the first test completed each other.

"Julien Bonnaire is a great jumper and is fast around the pitch, Thierry Dusautoir is a scavenger, Vermeulen is a powerhouse. We are looking forward to seeing how they can stand up to the best backrow in the world," he said.

Maso admitted that selecting Traille, who has only played one international and four matches with his Biarritz club at flyhalf, was a risky choice.

"Damien had a very good game when we defeated South Africa last June. Frederic Michalak is injured, we decided it was the right time to take a calculated risk, otherwise we could maybe not find out if Damien can make it at flyhalf. If he passes the test, he will be in competition with Michalak," he said.

"Damien's task will be to lead our backline," added Laporte, who kept faith with Yannick Jauzion and Florian Fritz at centre, Christophe Dominici and Aurelien Rougerie on the wings and gave the nod to Julien Laharrague at full back.

"We feel that we can take the All Blacks at their own fast game but make no mistake, Saturday's test will be above all a physical battle," he added.

Team: 15. Julien Laharrague, 14. Aurelien Rougerie, 13. Florian Fritz, 12. Yannick Jauzion, 11. Christophe Dominici, 10. Damien Traille, 9. Dimitri Yachvili, 8. Elvis Vermeulen, 7. Julien Bonnaire, 6. Thierry Dusautoir, 5. Pascal Pape, 4. Fabien Pelous (captain), 3. Pieter de Villiers, 2. Dimitri Szarzewski, 1. Sylvain Marconnet. Reserves: 16. Raphael Ibanez, 17. Olivier Milloud, 18. Lionel Nallet, 19. Remy Martin, 20. Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 21. David Marty, 22. Cedric Heymans.