France have added heft to their second row by recalling Emmanuel Meafou and Thibaud Flament for Saturday’s Six Nations clash with England in Paris.
Head coach Fabien Galthie has turned to his trusted all-Toulouse lock partnership by pairing the duo together for the ninth time, promoting them from the bench roles they performed in the 50-40 defeat by Scotland in round four.
Charles Ollivon moves from the engine room to number eight to accommodate their return, with Galthie’s hand partly forced by suspension and injury.
Oscar Jegou has been banned for four matches for eye-gouging against Scotland while Anthony Jelonch is recovering from a hamstring strain suffered during training this week.
Temo Matiu makes his debut in the number seven jersey to complete the three personnel changes to the pack.
The only adjustment to the backline is at outside centre where Pierre-Louis Barassi replaces Nicolas Depoortere, who dislocated his shoulder at Murrayfield.
France top the Six Nations table but are locked in a three-way tussle for the title alongside Ireland and Scotland, who clash in Dublin in the opening match of ‘Super Saturday’.
However, Les Bleus’ overwhelmingly superior points difference means that a bonus-point victory would almost certainly result in a successful defence of their crown, regardless of events at the Aviva Stadium.
— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) March 12, 2026
France team to play England in Six Nations
Forwards: 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 2 Julien Marchand, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 4 Thibaud Flament, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 6 François Cros, 7 Temo Matiu, 8 Charles Ollivon
Backs: 9 Antoine Dupont (Captain), 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 12 Yoram Moefana, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 14 Théo Attissogbe, 15 Thomas Ramos
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Hugo Auradou, 20 Mickaël Guillard, 21 Joshua Brennan, 22 Baptiste Serin, 23 Émilien Gailleton