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Laporte turns on the power

Written by James Overton
Monday, 03 September 2007
France coach Bernard Laporte has moved to counter Argentina's renowned scrummaging prowess by naming 13 forwards in his squad to face the Pumas at the Stade de France on Friday. There are no surprises in the front row, where Olivier Milloud and Pieter De Villiers will join forces with their captain Raphael Ibanez. In the second row, Jerome Thion will team with Toulouse lock Fabien Pelous, who Laporte says is "in great form and the man of the moment." Behind them, Remy Martin has been picked for his tackling ability, alongside Serge Betsen and Imanol Haridornoquy. The French coaching staff are delighted to have such strength in depth, with a further five forwards to take their place on the bench. French team manager Jo Maso said: "When you select the team, you do it based on the players' qualities. It is always pleasant to realise we have a list of such quality." Scrum half Pierre Mignoni and fly half David Skrela will look to maintain the excellent partnership they established during the 2007 Six Nations. However, Jean-Baptiste Ellissade and Frederick Michalak will be available to deputise from the bench. Cedric Heymans will continue at full back after giving a good account of himself in that position in the win over Wales in Cardiff last month. Laporte said: "We needed more than a full back and to put him in the starting line-up didn't seem detrimental." !