The team, for which Castres lock Lionel Nallet will be captain, will have several changes from the squad that were victorious last year and it will be the first chosen by Marc Lievremont, who replaced Bernard Laporte after the World Cup.
Sebastien Chabal, Jerome Thion, Clement Poitrenaud, Pierre Mignoni and David Marty will not be included in the team.
The players Raphael Ibanez, Fabien Pelous, Christophe Dominici and Serge Betsen have all retired from international rugby, so that is why they are not included in the line up, whilst Frederic Michalak has taken a year away to play Super-14 rugby in South Africa.
Meanwhile props Sylvain Marconnet, Pieter De Villiers and Olivier Milloud were ruled out due to injuries they are both suffering.
French Rugby Federation president Bernard Lapasset is reported to have said that Marc Lievremont’s choice of players is a "courageous" one.
