Maestri back for France in Argentina friendly

France’s rugby union national team lock Yoann Maestri (right) grabs the ball in a line-out during a training session in Marcoussis, south of Paris, as part of the preparation for the upcoming second test match against Argentina. France coach Philippe Saint-Andre made only one change from the team that beat Australia last weekend, bringing in Maestri for the Test against Argentina on Saturday.

MARCOUSSIS, France - France coach Philippe Saint-Andre on Thursday made only one change from the team that beat Australia last weekend, bringing in second row Yoann Maestri for the Test against Argentina on Saturday.

Maestri’s return, after a back injury ruled him out of selection for the 33-6 victory over the Wallabies, means Jocelino Suta, who took his place to win his first cap, is relegated to the replacements bench.

Argentina come into the match in Lille, northeast France, having played 12 Tests since June against France’s three, which Saint-Andre said would make it a tough test.

“It’s a key match for us. We know the Argentines. They’ve perhaps never been playing as well in November than this year,” the French coach told a news conference at the national rugby centre in Marcoussis, near Paris.

“We want to see whether we’re able to win two very, very high-level match in succession. It’s an enormous challenge for the staff and the players,” he added.

Team:

Brice Dulin; Wesley Fofana, Florian Fritz, Maxime Mermoz, Vincent Clerc; Frederic Michalak, Maxime Machenaud; Louis Picamoles, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Yannick Nyanga; Yoann Maestri, Pascal Pape (capt); Nicolas Mas, Dimitri Szarzewski, Yannick Forestier.

Replacements: Benjamin Kayser, Thomas Domingo, Vincent Debaty, Jocelino Suta, Damien Chouly, Morgan Parra, Francois Trinh-Duc, Huget