AB team

New Zealand:

15 Israel Dagg, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Matt Todd, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody

Replacements: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 Aaron Smith, 22 Aaron Cruden, 23 Rieko Ioane

Date: Saturday, November 26
Venue: Stade de France, Paris
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Federico Anselmi (Argentina), Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)

 and almost 10 years later Wayne Barnes refs another France-AB,...

expected changes in the AB team,... A. Smith's benching could have been a surprise in any other previous game,... but since the bathroom incident he's been playing far from his level and Perenara is the inform halback at this moment

Dagg has another opportunity to play in his preferred position,.... he palyed there just the first game of the season, I think,.... and good to see there Todd also,.. let see if he can keep the level he showed against the aussies in the 3rd bledisloe

 

France head coach Guy Novès has made three changes to his starting XV for Saturday's clash with New Zealand in Paris.

In the back-line, Camille Lopez comes in at fly-half for Jean-Marc Doussain who wore the number 10 jersey in les Bleus' narrow 25-23 defeat to Australia last weekend.

Out wide, Brice Dulin replaces Scott Spedding at full-back. This will be Dulin's first start for France since their 2015 Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat to the All Blacks.

The final change is in the forwards, where Xavier Chiocci takes over from Cyril Baille at loosehead prop.

France:

15 Brice Dulin, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Rémi Lamerat, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Kevin Gourdon, 6 Charles Ollivon, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sébastian Vahaamahina, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Xavier Chiocci

Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Julien Le Devedec, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain, 23 Gaël Fickou

 Ol' Barnsey is back, does he have the balls to rise above partisan crowd influence, this is the question 
Good to see TJ get a start he really looks lively and while his pass may not be as good as Smith's he offers more aggression around the rucks and looks more like scoring or making a big play than A. Smith does lately. It's good that TJ get's more playing time as it builds our depth. He's an exciting player.
Naholo on the wing is a bit susceptible to the high ball and we haven't seen him score much lately. Hopefully it will be a breakout game for him. Same for J. Savea in terms of the high ball. He used to be very reliable in that part of his game.
I agree with the coaches on starting Todd & having Ardie on the bench. This is a lethal combination. Good to see Scott Barrett and Ioane on the bench. I didn't think they would get much game time on this tour but they have been given opportunities and I think they will do well in this game.

 ...Two very dangerous Fijian wingers in Nakataci and Nakatawa that will keep Naholo and Savea busy - players that aren't exactly reknown for their defence....Lenert- Brown shifted out to center marking Fofana as well will be a good test for him.......hopefully it's a dry track and we get to see some great running rugby...

Good points Brycy. I think our midfield defect should be good with critters & ALB but the wing defense will tested for sure. I never take these games for granted especially when it's the last game of the tour. Glad our pack looks solid.

 ...and how will Crotty hold up after his recent injury...only playing due to Fekitoa's suspension i suspect and may not be fully fit...

If he goes down then we have Cruden & Ioane on the bench. Sounds a little make-shift. It as B. Smith showed last week these boys can do make-shift :)