France head coach Fabien Galthie has revealed his 23-man squad to take on the Springboks this weekend in Paris, with Gael Fickou named as captain.

The Racing 92 centre takes over the captaincy duties from previous leader Gregory Alldritt, who has been dropped from the squad altogether.

Les Bleus come into this weekend’s Test out for revenge, as they take on the Boks for the first time since the dramatic World Cup quarter-final two years ago.

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While the headline call comes in the back-row, France boss Galthie has turned to his big guns in virtually every position.

Thomas Ramos gets the nod at full-back, with Bordeaux-Begles duo Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey named on the wings. Pierre-Louis Barassi joins skipper Fickou in midfield, while Romain Ntamack and Nolann le Garrec start in the halves.

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Mickael Guillard slots in at number eight following a strong showing on the summer tour there, displacing Alldritt in the process. He is joined by Paul Boudehent and Anthony Jelonch in a tasty back-row unit.

Toulouse pairing Emmanuel Meafou and Thibaud Flament start at lock, with Regis Montagne, Julien Marchand and Baptiste Erdocio named as the starting front-row combination.

Galthie has opted for a 6/2 split on the bench, with Guilaume Cramont, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Dorian Aldegheri, Romain Taofifenua, Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou all named as the forward options. Jegou has featured at centre in the past, so is an option to move into the backline if needed.

Maxime Lucu and Nicolas Depoortere round off the squad.

Team v Springboks in full

France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Nolann le Garrec, 8 Mickael Guillard, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Regis Montagne, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Baptiste Erdocio
Replacements: 16 Guilaume Cramont, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Hugo Auradou, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Nicolas Depoortere

Date: Saturday, November 8
Venue: Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Kick-off: 22:10 (SAST), 21:10 (local), 20:10 (UK)
Referee: Angus Gardner (RA)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
FRPO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)

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