France coach Laporte rings changes

MARCOUSSIS, France -- France have reacted to their shock defeat to Argentina in the World Cup opener by making 12 changes to their starting line-up for Sunday's match against minnows Namibia in Toulouse on Sunday.

Only South African-born prop Pieter de Villiers, center Damien Traille and Cedric Heymans survive from starting XV who slumped to a stunning 17-12 defeat to the Pumas.

Heymans reverts to his regular wing position after a difficult time at full-back with his Toulouse team-mate Clement Poitrenaud returning at full-back.

Captain Raphael Ibanez and former skipper Fabien Pelous drop to the bench, ostensibly to rest ahead of the now crucial match against Triple Crown winners Ireland five days later at the Stade de France.

However both Ibanez (93 caps) and Pelous (114 caps) as well as star center Yannick Jauzion (45 caps) had indicated on Tuesday they wanted to play, but this provoked a rare angry reaction from team manager Jo Maso.

"It is us who select the team and not the players," said Maso, who was also part of the management team when France reached the 1999 World Cup final.

"There is another match, against Ireland, five days later.

"We put the captains of the team either on the bench or rested them entirely like Serge Betsen. But we need players like that, like Raphael Ibanez who remains without doubt our captain."

At half back, the Toulouse pair of Frederic Michalak and Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, who will captain the side, are back in favor for a match France should win by a big margin, eyeing a bonus point for scoring four tries.

"We told those players who did not play well against Argentina exactly that," said under-pressure coach Bernard Laporte, who was also the subject of an acerbic cartoon in 'L'Equipe' on Wednesday highlighting his business interests which have caused some controversy in France.

"We said it to Christophe Dominici and to Yannick Jauzion. We told them that we expected something else of them."

Australia have made two changes for Saturday's crunch World Cup clash with Wales in Cardiff - and bolstered their forward power on the bench.

Drew Mitchell, who scored two tries as a replacement in the Wallabies' opening 91-3 win over Japan, will start on the left wing ahead of the injured Adam Ashley-Cooper.

In the pack, Al Baxter has made way for Guy Shepherdson at tight-head prop - but speculation that head coach John Connolly would start with both Phil Waugh and George Smith in the back row proved unfounded.

Instead, Connolly has opted to include Waugh as one of five forwards on the Australia bench.

The winners in Cardiff on Saturday are likely to top Pool B and earn a quarter-final against the losers of England and South Africa. E-mail to a friend