Six Nations 2019: France puts faith in teen Romain Ntamack over Mathieu Bastareaud, axed former captain

Uncapped teen Romain Ntamack has gotten the nod over Mathieu Bastareaud, who captained France last year, as Les Bleus get set for their Six Nations opener Friday against Wales.

Not only will Bastareaud, a center, miss out on a place in the starting lineup, but he won’t be on the bench at Stade de France either.

Coach Jacques Brunel has put his faith in the 19-year-old Ntamack, whose father, Emile, won 46 caps for Les Bleus, to take on Warren Gatland’s side after some eye-catching displays for Toulouse and France’s Under-20s.

Ntamack — the youngest player on any of this year’s Six Nations squads — will be paired with Wesley Fofana, while South Africa-born lock Paul Willemse also will make his debut in Paris.

Voici la composition de votre #XVdeFrance pour l’ouverture du tournoi des @SixNations_FR contre le Pays-de-Galles ! #NeFaisonsXV #FRAPDG pic.twitter.com/X3itWclpJO

Brunel has reunited experienced scrum-half Morgan Parra and fly-half Camille Lopez for the start of the tournament.

Promising pop Demba Bamba, who made his international debut against Fiji last November, has only been named among the replacements.

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France: Maxime Medard, Damian Penaud, Wesley Fofana, Romain Ntamack, Yoann Huget, Camille Lopez, Morgan Parra; Jefferson Poirot, Guilhem Guirado (captain), Uini Atonio, Sebastien Vahaamahina, Paul Willemse, Wenceslas Lauret, Arthur Iturria, Louis Picamoles.

Replacements: Julien Marchand, Dany Priso, Demba Bamba, Felix Lambey, Gregory Alldritt, Baptiste Serin, Gaël Fickou, Geoffrey Doumayrou.

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