World champions New Zealand will look to finish off their autumn tour with a perfect record when they take on the Grand Slammers from this year France.
This is the second clash in a week for these two titans from each hemisphere, the Black Ferns emerging victorious in Toulon last week 14-0.
France coach Samuel Cherouk has been forced into four changes to the starting XV that fell to New Zealand last weekend.
Montserrat Amedee and Julie Annery were injured in France’s 14-0 defeat to the reigning world champions in Toulon, with both out for the rest of the international series.
Replacing the duo are Ian Jason – who starts at left wing as Caroline Boujard moves to full-back in the absence of Amedee – and Céline Ferer – who comes in at flanker.
Nassira Konde and Chloe Pelle are on sevens duty, meaning that Maëlle Filopon replaces the former at centre, while Dhia Maïlys Traore takes Pelle’s spot among the replacements.
After starting on the bench on Friday, Lise Arricastre comes in for a straight swap with Annaëlle Deshayes at prop. Also coming in on the bench are Fiona Lecat, Gabrielle Vernier and Doriane Constanty.
Elsewhere, Gaëlle Hermet captains the side for the second match running, the Six Nations Grand Slam champion partnering new addition Ferer and Romane Ménager in the back row.
Black Ferns Head Coach Glenn Moore has made one change to his 23, Auckland Storm’s Natahlia Moors is set to make her debut in Grenoble. France Women v New Zealand Women, Stade des Alpes, Grenoble, Saturday 17 November, 14:30 What they said
France head coach Samuel Cherouk said: “We made some changes with the injured players. We are on a tour, so we evaluate all the girls.
“We must share the game-time. Everyone must take part in the project, being a starter or substitute. We go through that to build a whole group.
“For Saturday’s match, we have to be able to do what we did well in the first match.”
Glenn Moore said: “We expected the French to come out firing and they did just that. This weekend we’re expecting that level of intensity to ramp up a notch.
“The players have recovered well since Friday and we’ve been upping the intensity all week in preparation. Having an extra day up our sleeves has given us more time to further refine our game plans and manage a couple of minor injuries.
“Every time this team pulls on a black jersey they want to put out their best performance, and this Saturday will be no exception. This will be their last Test match for 2018 and we all want to finish on a high. It’s going to be high intensity and we will need to retain our composure.” Key battle Selica Winiata v Caroline Boujard Caroline Boujard switches to full-back for France this weekend from the wing and her head to head with Black Ferns skipper Selica Winiata should make for compelling viewing.
Winiata has been a mainstay for this side since her debut all the way back in 2008, and her experience against Boujard’s brilliance will go a long way to deciding if the Black Ferns can finish off a perfect autumn or France can claim their scalp for the first time in their history. Key stat
– This will be the sixth meeting between the two sides, with New Zealand victorious in all five previous encounters
– Before this autumn, the last time the two teams met was at the 2010 World Cup when the Black Ferns won 45-7
– This month the Black Ferns have beaten USA in Chicago and France in Toulon, and are looking to round off a perfect autumn this weekend in Grenoble France: 15. Caroline Boujard, 14. Cyrielle Banet, 13. Maëlle Filopon, 12. Carla Neisen, 11. Ian Jason, 10. Caroline Drouin, 9. Pauline Bourdon, 1. Lise Arricastre, 2. Caroline Thomas, 3. Julie Duval, 4. Lénaïg Corson, 5. Safi N’Diaye, 6. Gaëlle Hermet (captain), 7. Céline Ferer, 8. Romane Ménager
Replacements: 16. Laure Touyé, 17. Annaëlle Deshayes, 18. Dhia Maïlys Traore, 19. Audrey Forlani, 20. Fiona Lecat, 21. Yanna Rivoalen, 22. Gabrielle Vernier, 23. Doriane Constanty.
New Zealand: 15. Selica Winiata, 14. Renee Wickliffe, 13. Stacey Waaka, 12. Ruahei Demant, 11. Ayesha Leti-I’iga, 10. Krysten Cottrell, 9. Kendra Cocksedge, 1. Philippa Love, 2. Fiao’o Faamausili (captain), 3. Aldora Itunu, 4. Eloise Blackwell, 5. Charmaine Smith, 6. Charmaine McMenamin, 7. Les Elder, 8. Aroha Savage
Replacements: 16. Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate, 17. Leilani Perese, 18. Aleisha-Pearl Nelson, 19. Jackie Pateau-Fereti, 20. Linda Itunu, 21. Kristina Sue, 22. Monica Tagoai, 23. Natahlia Moors
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