Parra the fall guy as Brunel wields axe and Ntamack returns at fly-half

FOR the third time in as many weeks, France coach Jacques Brunel has completely torn up his selection form book.

Brunel has dismissed the halfback pairing of Morgan Parra and Camille Lopez, fresh from speaking out to French media about the shambles of the 44-8 defeat by England two weekends ago.

Gone too are centre Geoffrey Doumayrou and Yannick Camara, the flanker despatched as quickly as he was brought back in, while captain Guilhem Guirado has survived to lead the side at hooker.

Whether it was always Brunel’s intention to go back to his past selection preference against England, only he will know, but the team that will take on Scotland this Saturday looks something like the one that tore Wales apart during the first half of their opener.

Romain Ntamack, the 19-year-old son of former Les Bleus centre Emile, is back in the fold and given the reins in the No 10 shirt. It’s a bold call from Brunel who names the fly-half’s Toulouse team-mate Antoine Dupont at scrum-half. Scotland, meanwhile, have been left reeling from the loss of Finn Russell, with the fly-half failing to recover from a head knock sustained during Racing 92’s Top 14 home defeat by Toulouse.

Russell had already scored a try when he was concussed in the first half on Sunday, and on Monday the 26-year-old failed to satisfy the requirements of that day’s graduated return-to-play protocol.

Scotland centre Sam Johnson said yesterday he was “devastated with the people we’ve lost”. As well as Russell, Scotland are missing several key men. Tighthead WP Nel, back-rowers Sam Skinner and Ryan Wilson, centre Huw Jones and fullback Stuart Hogg have been injured since the start of the tournament.