Jelonch captains France after seven-month lay-off - Galthié names team to play Uruguay
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France head coach Fabien Galthié names his match-day 23 to face Uruguay, with Anthony Jelonch returning from a knee injury sustained in late February to captain Les Bleus as their number eight in Pool A in Lille on Thursday.
1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
2 Pierre Bourgarit
3 Dorian Aldegheri
4 Cameron Woki
5 Romain Taofifenua
6 Paul Boudehent
7 Sekou Macalou
8 Anthony Jelonch (C)
9 Maxime Lucu
10 Antoine Hastoy
11 Gabin Villière
12 Yoram Moefana
13 Arthur Vincent
14 Louis Bielle-Biarrey
15 Melvyn Jaminet
Replacements:
16 Peato Mauvaka
17 Reda Wardi
18 Sipili Falatea
19 Bastien Chalureau
20 Thibaud Flament
21 Francois Cros
22 Baptiste Couilloud
23 Thomas Ramos
- Head coach Fabien Galthié has made 12 changes to his starting XV from the side that defeated New Zealand in Rugby World Cup 2023's opening match, with only Cameron Woki, Gabin Villiere and Yoram Moefana retaining their starting berths.
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There are no survivors in the match-day 23 from the last French team to play at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in 2018 against Argentina.
- Anthony Jelonch will captain the side for the first time since their 2021 tour of Australia.
- Antoine Hastoy will make only his third start in his fifth career test after making his debut against Australia in 2021. He has never played more than 67 minutes in a single test in his career, and is still chasing his first points for Les Bleus.
- Thomas Ramos has scored 14 points or more in each of his past 11 tests dating back to November 2022 against Australia. He averaged 17 points per game in 2023 and has not missed more than two kicks at goal in a test this season.
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Fabien Galthié has won 21 of 22 tests in France as head coach, one more than he did as a player with 20 wins from 33 tests played on home soil.
