“Now that Ryan has recovered from injury we have increased the options in the back row,” said Ruddock. “Jonathan Thomas is unlucky to lose his spot after performing well against Italy and scoring a try, but such is the competition for places that every position is debated in detail.
“For this particular game we felt we might not always be afforded the open spaces out wide we were able to exploit against Italy, so an extra big ball carrier in the back row is thought to be necessary on this occasion. Obviously it’s a twenty-two man game these days and there is every chance that Jonathan will be making an impact from the bench.”
Luscombe’s hamstring strain prevented him from taking a full part in training yesterday and thus ruled him out of contention for the trip to Paris, but he will be reviewed early next week.
“Due to his impressive performances from the bench, Kevin was very much in the selection mix anyway and the unfortunate injury to Hal gives Kev the chance to start,” said Ruddock. “We also looked closely at Duncan Jones on his return from injury for his region at the weekend and felt that after six weeks out he was understandably a little rusty. Even though he is such a quality player, we feel he needs some more conditioning work and extra game time at regional level.”
Rhys Williams takes the place on the bench vacated by Morgan and Ian Gough makes way for Thomas among the forward replacements. And Ruddock is calling upon his side to ‘be bold’ for the trip to the home of the reigning RBS Six Nations Champions.
“France have picked an incredibly strong team, a very powerful pack and an exceptional back line,” he added. “The new cap at full-back (Laharrague) has a massive reputation for attacking rugby and with the return of Rougerie and Jauzion it looks like they’ve picked a back line to attack.
“Graham Henry said a couple of years ago that we should ‘be bold’ when going to France and he was proved right. That’s a great way to approach the game and something we will further endorse with the players this week.”
Meanwhile, French coach Bernard Laporte earlier today made four changes from the side who beat England 18-17 at Twickenham ten days ago as the defending RBS Six Nations Champions bid for a tournament record tenth successive victory.
Brive full back Julien Laharrague is called up for his first cap while there are recalls for wing Aurelien Rougerie, centre Yannick Jauzion and flanker Yannick Nyanga.
