France name team to hunt Six Nations title while Marcus Smith is back for England

Elsewhere, head coach Fabien Galthie once again put his faith in Le Bomb Squad as he has named another 7-1 split on the bench.

Lucu, who starts for the first time in this year's Championship, is one of two changes to France's starting XV to take on Scotland this weekend, with experienced centre Gael Fickou coming in for Pierre-Louis Barrassi at 13.

That means Thomas Ramos is once again named at 15, with Bordeaux flyers Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey once again on the wings.

Yoram Moefana retains his place at 12, joining the aforementioned Fickou in midfield, and Romain Ntamack starts at fly-half alongside Lucu.

Skipper Alldritt retains his place at number eight, with Paul Boudehent and Francois Cros joining him in the back-row. Mickael Guillard - who has recently been nominated for the inaugural Rising Star award - starts alongside Thibaud Flament at lock, with Uini Atonio, Peato Mauvaka and Jean-Baptiste Gros named in the front-row.

Galthie has kept Le Bomb Squad intact from last weekend, with Julien Marchand, Cyrill Baille, Dorian Aldegheri, Hugo Auradou, Emmanuel Meafou, Oscar Jegou and Antony Jelonch named as the seven forwards on the bench, while Nolann Le Garrec will is the only back named returning to the matchday squad after being dropped following the defeat to England in round two.

A bonus point win for Les Bleus this weekend would see them crowned Six Nations champions for the first time since 2022.

Meanwhile, Steve Borthwick has made four changes to his England XV to face Wales in the final round of the Six Nations Championship in Cardiff on Saturday.

Two of those are in the backline as Marcus Smith returns at full-back, with Elliot Daly shifting to the wing as Ollie Sleightholme drops out.

Ollie Lawrence's injury means that Tommy Freeman moves to centre with the inexperienced Tom Roebuck coming into the XV.

Up front, there are also a couple of alterations as Jamie George drops to the bench after earning his 100th cap last weekend, which means Luke Cowan-Dickie comes in at hooker.

George is joined among the replacements by Tom Willis as Ben Curry starts alongside his twin brother Tom at flanker, while Ben Earl is at number eight.

The changes mean that none of the starting back three that began the match against Italy are in the same position for the Wales encounter, with Daly switching from full-back to wing.

There is also another new centre pair - although they at least have a club connection - as Freeman combines with fellow Northampton Saint, Fraser Dingwall.

The half-backs remain unchanged, however, with Fin Smith and Alex Mitchell once again lining up together after impressing during the 2025 Six Nations.

Lock is also untouched with captain Maro Itoje and Ollie Chessum the partnership in the engine room, while Ellis Genge and Will Stuart continue at prop. It is a big game in particular for Stuart, who will reach 50 caps when he runs out in Cardiff.

On the bench, the Red Rose have continued with the 6-2 split as Jamie George, Fin Baxter, Joe Heyes cover the front-row.

Chandler Cunningham-South and Willis also remain in the 23 but there is a place for age-grade star Henry Pollock, who could make his debut this weekend.

Jack van Poortvliet is once again the reserve scrum-half while the experienced George Ford could make his first appearance of the 2025 Six Nations as he completes the squad.

France team v Scotland - 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Gregory Alldritt (c), 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Mickael Guillard, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Uini Atonio 2, Peato Mauvaka, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros

Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyrill Baille, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Hugo Auradou, 20 Emmanuel Meafou, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Antony Jelonch, 23 Nolann le Garrec

England team v Wales - 15 Marcus Smith, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Will Stuart, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge

Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Chandler Cunningham-South, 20 Henry Pollock, 21 Tom Willis, 22 Jack van Poortvliet, 23 George Ford

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