The 2023 Rugby World Cup hosts and the favourites to win the tournament, France, will welcome Fiji to Stade de la Beaujoire for a World Cup warm-up match on Saturday evening.
France come into this match following a narrow win over Scotland in Saint-Etienne last week, while the visitors secured a solid 35-12 win over Japan at the Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium at the start of the month.
Match preview
© Reuters
Les Bleues's dominance through 2021 and the first half of 2022 has faded over the last 18 months, and they will be hoping they can find the winning formula again with their home World Cup just weeks away from commencing.
Fabien Galthie's side were made to relinquish the Six Nations title earlier this year as their 11-match winning streak was brought to an end by Ireland, who went on to claim the trophy with a perfect record.
Since then, they visited Murrayfield at the start of the month and led the match 21-3 at half-time, but in an incredible second-half display, the 14-man Scots came romping back and won the match 25-21.
The French were at risk of suffering a similar fate last week as they squandered a 14-point lead in the second half but just got over the line with a Thomas Ramos penalty in the final minute of regulation time, which earned them a 30-27 victory.
As a result, France have fallen to third in the world rankings, with New Zealand overtaking them into second, and they will do well not to underestimate Fiji, who have improved noticeably in recent times.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, Fiji's recent performances on the world stage have seen them move up the world rankings, leapfrogging Wales into ninth and closing the gap on a struggling Wallabies in eighth place.
Vern Cotter's side put in a solid performance against Japan two weeks ago and secured a commanding 21-0 first-half lead, with their opponents reduced to 14 men just six minutes into the match.
Still, they remained professional and went on to earn a 35-12 victory in Tokyo, with Frank Lomani leading the way with two tries while the boot of Ben Volavola added 12 conversion points.
That result followed consecutive wins over Samoa (33-19) and Tonga (36-20) last month and also means that they come into this match riding a four-match winning streak, last losing to Ireland in November last year.
However, they are massive underdogs in this match, having been comprehensively beaten by the French 28-0 in their last encounter and only ever managing one win against Les Bleues since 1987.
France form (all competitions):
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
Fiji form (all competitions):
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
Team News
In a team featuring 13 alterations from the lineup that started the last match, Montpellier's lock, Paul Willemse, and Toulouse's flanker, Francois Cros, return to the French squad after recovering from injuries.
Romain Ntamack's injury will mean that Antoine Hastoy will start at flyhalf for France this weekend, with Gregory Alldritt taking on the captaincy responsibilities.
Fiji received an injury boost in the week with Vinaya Habosi cleared to make a return to the side against France, having not played for the national team as yet this year after picking up an injury playing for his club side Racing 92.
French-based centre Semi Radradra will captain the Fijians with La Rochelle's Levani Botia at loose forward and Lyon winger Josua Tuisova also making the starting 15.
France starting lineup: 15. Melvyn Jaminet, 14. Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 13. Jonathan Danty, 12. Arthur Vincent, 11. Yoram Moefana, 10. Antoine Hastoy, 9. Maxime Lucu, 8. Gregory Alldritt (c), 7. Dylan Cretin, 6. Francois Cros, 5. Paul Willemse, 4. Florian Verhaeghe, 3. Uini Atonio, 2. Peato Mauvaka, 1. Reda Wardi
Replacements: 16. Pierre Bourgarit, 17. Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18. Thomas Laclayat, 19. Bastien Chalureau, 20. Thibaud Flament, 21. Sekou Macalou, 22. Baptiste Serin, 23. Matthieu Jalibert
Fiji starting lineup: 15. Sireli Maqala, 14. Josua Tuisova, 13. Iosefo Masi, 12. Semi Radradra (c), 11. Vinaya Habosi, 10. Caleb Muntz, 9. Frank Lomani, 8. Levani Botia, 7. Viliame Mata, 6. Meli Derenalagi, 5. Te Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta, 4. Isoa Nasilasila, 3. Mesake Doge, 2. Tevita Ikanivere, 1. Eroni Mawi
Replacements: 16. Sam Matavesi, 17. Peni Ravai, 18. Luke Tagi, 19. Temo Mayanavanua, 20. Albert Tuisue, 21. Simi Kuruvoli, 22. Jiuta Wainiqolo
Head To Head
France and Fiji have met 11 times in the past, and the French have won 10 of those encounters, while Fiji have only won once. Fiji's solitary win against Les Bleus came in 2018 at Stade de France by a scoreline of 21-14.
We say: France 37-15 Fiji
The French showed a few worrying signs against Scotland over the last few weeks, especially with regard to seeing out games from commanding positions. However, against a lower-ranked opponent in this one and in front of their home fans, we expect Les Bleues to secure a comfortable victory.
No Data Analysis info
Devesh Jaganath
