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Galthie explains why 20-year-old Bielle-Biarrey starts versus Scotland
By Josh Raisey
France have made two changes to the team that lost to Ireland last week for their match against Scotland on Saturday at Murrayfield- one is forced, the other not.
In the second-row, Cameron Woki has moved up from the bench in Marseille to start in Edinburgh in round two of the Guinness Six Nations to fill the gap left by Paul Willemse, who has been banned this week after picking up a yellow card and a red card in the record 38-17 loss.
The other change is not enforced though, and sees wingers Yoram Moefana and Louis Bielle-Biarrey swap roles.
After starting on the left wing at the Stade Velodrome, Moefana must settle for the bench this week, while his Bordeaux-Begles teammate takes his place.
Head coach Fabien Galthie has a simple explanation for this swap- speed.
Being primarily a centre for his club, Galthie said that Moefana has a different profile to the 20-year-old Bielle-Biarrey, but nevertheless highlighted that there is a responsibility as a substitute to win the match.
Speaking after naming his squad on Thursday, the France head coach said that Moefana's versatility - being able to play on the wing and centres - makes him an ideal finisher, particularly in a 6-2 split on the bench, where outside back options are limited to one.
"Being finishers is a responsibility," Galthie said, as reported by Midi Olympique (translated by Google).
"They are the ones who win the matches. In today's rugby, we win or lose the matches at the end of the matches. Louis' repositioning is explained by the fact that he brings speed. It's a different profile from Yoram.
"He's used to playing on the wing and also covers the fullback position. Thomas Ramos also covers the flyhalf position. And Yoram , who becomes a finisher, covers four positions because he can also play in the two positions of centre (first and second) and winger (left and right). This is where he will bring us all his palette."
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the game was 2 weeks before the challenge cup final. I really don’t believe they needed to rest that many players.
Go to commentsI really feel like neither of the Vunipolas is given the respect they deserve. I would have liked to see both of them get a few more caps than they have gotten in the past couple of years, but unfortunately the fact that they both peaked young has meant that for a number of years they have been perceived as disappointments. When they are both retired, in the cold light of day they will be recognised as two of the best players of their generation of any nation.
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