Bory jets into starting spot
France have taken the unusual step of naming a player in their World Cup team who had not even arrived in Australia when the announcement was made.
Montferrand’s David Bory is not due to arrive in Sydney as replacement for knee injury victim Xavier Garbajosa until later this evening but team manager Joe Maso is confident the winger will have recovered from jet lag and be ready to face the United States in Wollongong on Friday.
“We spoke to David this morning and he said he would be fine,” said team manager Joe Maso. “Mind you, that was before he set off.”
Bory will form part of a completely revamped French side as coach Bernard Laporte gives his entire first XV a break after booking their quarter-final berth with that record win over Scotland last weekend.
Laporte has made it clear he does not expect to use any of his replacements, with the exception of prop Sylvain Marconnet, who will probably play the entire second half as he continues to recover from the thigh strain which threatened his participation in the tournament.
Scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili and centre Brian Liebenberg have been given their first World Cup starts, while hooker Yannick Bru will skipper the side for the first time.
Having come within a missed conversion of beating Fiji in their opening game, the United States then gave Scotland a hard time for long periods before breaking their 10-match losing sequence against Japan last night.
It makes them dangerous opponents for a French side eager to complete their fourth successive bonus point win and Maso is keen to ensure his team are ready to meet the challenge.
“This is not an experimental line-up,” he said. “It is a French international side taking part in a Test match we are aiming to win.
“It is also an opportunity for some people to shape their future careers.
“We all know Fabien Galthie is the first choice scrum-half but Dimitri Yachvili has the chance to show he is the rightful successor to that position.”
