Galthie pins faith on French youngsters for Paris match

NEW coach Fabien Galthie has named two uncapped players in his starting XV for France’s Six Nations opener against England in Paris on Sunday.

Montpellier’s Anthony Bouthier, 27, is at full-back while club teammate Mohamed Haouas, 25, is at tight-head prop against the World Cup finalists.

Flanker Cameron Woki, 21, and lock Boris Palu, 23, could make their international debuts off the bench. Charles Ollivon captains the side in Galthie’s first game in charge.

The France coach named a Six Nations squad with 19 uncapped players and an average age of 24 earlier in January and he has kept faith with a youthful half-back pairing for the game against England.

Toulouse’s 20-year-old fly-half Romain Ntamack starts alongside 23-year-old Antoine Dupont at scrum-half.

Virimi Vakatawa and Gael Fickou

are the centres, while World Cup quarter-finalists Jefferson Poirot, Baptiste Serin and Vincent Rattez are on the bench.

Wing Teddy Thomas and lock Paul Willemse did not play in the tournament in Japan, where France lost to Wales in the quarter-final, but are both back.

Galthie, who served as Jacques Brunel’s assistant coach in Japan, has chosen a starting XV with an average of fewer than 15 caps to face an England side that head coach Eddie Jones promises will bring “brutal physicality”.

Former Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards is also part of Les Bleus’ new coaching set-up as the side aim to improve on last year’s fourth-place finish in the Six Nations.

Bouthier; Thomas, Vakatawa, Fickou, Penaud; Ntamack, Dupont; Baille, Marchand, Haouas, Le Roux, Willemse, Cros, Ollivon (c), Alldritt. Reps: Mauvaka, Poirot, Bamba, Palu, Woki, Serin, Jalibert, Rattez.

France: