Mathieu Bastareaud is back to torment England

Wednesday 17 March 2010
Published By: Ben Welch
Six Nations > France

Mathieu Bastareaud will make his return to the France starting line-up on Saturday as Les Bleus go in search of the Grand Slam.

Bastareaud, who has easily been one of the stand-out players of the tournament, was rested against Italy but there will be no let-up for the English defence in Paris on Saturday evening as Marc Lievremont unleashes his man.

The 21-year-old Stade Francais star will start in place of David Marty, whose two-try haul in the win over the Azzurri was not enough to guarantee him a spot against England.

Lievremont revealed that he has also made other changes to the starting line-up in an effort to stop the French rot of four successive defeats against the side form across the Channel, though his overall squad remains the same.

"There was a discussion over whether to pick Marc Andreu or Julien Malzieu, who has also played very well in this tournament. We chose Marc for his punch and dynamism, and also his aggressiveness in defence," he said.

Posted by Ben Welch