France makes 4 squad changes for England game

France coach Marc Lievremont announced four squad changes Wednesday for next week's Six Nations match against England after beating defending Grand Slam champion Wales.

Lievremont has given priority to experience for the March 15 game at Twickenham, calling up lock Jerome Thion, No. 8 Julien Bonnaire and center Damien Traille. They have a total of 153 appearances for France and played under ex-coach Bernard Laporte.

Thion and Bonnaire have not played for France since a loss to Wales in last year's Six Nations in Cardiff. Traille came on as a substitute during the autumn matches against the Pacific Islanders and Australia.

Center Florian Fritz is back after a three-week suspension.

"(The four players) have put together good performances with their clubs and deserve to be picked, even if we haven't seen them since the start of the tournament," Lievremont said at France's training center in Marcoussis.

Fulgence Ouedraogo, Louis Picamoles and Clement Poitrenaud have all been left out, while Benoit Baby is injured after playing at flyhalf in the 21-16 win over Wales last week.

France and Wales each have four points in the standings, two behind leader Ireland with two rounds to play. England has already lost twice.

Thion's return will allow Sebastien Chabal to switch from the second row to blindside flanker. Chabal, who plays for Sale and is rated more highly in England than France, scored an impressive try against England in a 2007 World Cup warmup at Twickenham.

"His repositioning could be seen as a strategic move for the match against England," France assistant coach Emile Ntamack said.

Bonnaire, who has 42 caps, was picked in place of Ouedraogo. The two players have similar abilities but Lievremont considered Bonnaire as being better suited for the expected intensity of England's game.

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Forwards: Fabien Barcella, Thomas Domingo, Lionel Faure, Sylvain Marconnet, Benjamin Kayser, Dimitri Szarzewski, Sebastien Chabal, Romain Millo-Chluski, Lionel Nallet, Jerome Thion, Thierry Dusautoir, Imanol Harinordoquy, Julien Bonnaire.

Backs: Morgan Parra, Sebastien Tillous-Borde, Francois Trinh-Duc, Florian Fritz, Yannick Jauzion, Mathieu Bastareaud, Cedric Heymans, Julien Malzieu, Maxime Medard, Damien Traille.