Bastareaud to be rested for Third Test - Reports
- 1890
According to reports in France, Mathieu Bastareaud is expected to be rested from the third test against the All Blacks in Dunedin this weekend.
Halfback Morgan Parra is tipped to take over as the captain for the clash with Bastareaud not expected to be part of the matchday 23.
Clermont duo Wesley Fofana and Rémi Lamerat are likely to be paired in midfield with La Rochelle centre Geoffrey Doumayrou having tweaked an ankle in the last Saturday's defeat in Wellingto
Midi Olympique claim that the hybrid pitch at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium would lead to a faster brand of rugby which could test the fitness levels of Bastareaud following a busy season with Toulon that included 27 starts.
France coach Jacques Brunel also had a desire to pair the Clermont clubmates. Fofana, 30, played the last of his 44 tests against the All Blacks in Paris in November 2016.
Fofana was ruled out of the first two tests due to a thigh injury and Lamerat was a first-choice centre at the start of the Six Nations when Brunel took over as head coach, but he was one of eight players dropped after an infamous night out in Edinburgh.
Parra's promotion to the captaincy for the first time in his 68-test career crowns a successful return for the Clermont halfback. The extra responsibility should not faze Parra, a vocal backline director dubbed 'Le Petit General' (the Little General) in France.
Parra will be the third captain of Brunel's coaching tenure after Guilherm Guirado (rested for the New Zealand tour) and Bastareaud.
Apart from the changes in the centre France are expected to field the same team that started the second test with Benjamin Fall also having his red card recinded.
Source: stuff.co.nz
