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Marconnet fitness boost for France
SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) -- France will have their full squad available for Saturday's World Cup match against Scotland after tighthead prop Sylvain Marconnet was declared fit to play. Marconnet missed the first two group B games against Fiji and Japan after pulling a muscle in a leg during a training session on September 24. "Team doctor Thierry Hermerel just told me that Sylvain was ready to resume full training and would be available for Saturday's game," team manager Jo Maso told media on Monday. The 27-year-old has won 33 caps, most of them in the loosehead slot -- but is regarded as one of the fastest tightheads in the world. Coach Bernard Laporte had called on Marconnet to replace Pieter de Villiers when the South Africa-born tighthead dislocated a shoulder in a mountain bike crash during a training camp in August. "Four weeks ago, I thought the World Cup was over for me but I'm here. Of course, I'm happy to be back even if I'm a little apprehensive about it after such a long rehabilitation," said Marconnet. "The first full training session should see to that and I'm raring to start my World Cup even if I don't know if I will be selected for the Scotland game." Maso said: "The choice is between giving Sylvain a start or leaving him on the bench, but he will play and the simple fact that he is back will be a morale booster for all the players." Regarding the match build-up, he added that his squad would ease up on their heavy physical sessions before facing Scotland. "We held two very heavy sessions last week and the players complained their legs were heavy during our game against Japan last Saturday so we have decided to ease our training schedule," he explained.
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