RBS SIX NATIONS
Venue: Stade de France, Paris Date: Sunday, 14 March Kick-off: 1430 GMT Coverage: Live on BBC One, HD, Red Button and BBC Sport website

Castrogiovanni is a key figure in Italy's front row

Italy prop Martin Castrogiovanni has been passed fit for Sunday's Six Nations match against Grand Slam-chasers France in Paris.

The Leicester forward has overcome a muscle problem as Italy keep the side that beat Scotland in Rome last month.

France have made two changes, with wing Marc Andreu and centre David Marty brought in for Julien Malzieu and Mathieu Bastareaud respectively.

Bastareaud has been struggling with a calf injury and is on the bench.

France, who won their first three matches and host England next weekend, remain on course for their first Grand Slam since 2004, and fifth title of the Six Nations era.

Veteran scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili fails to get a start but is the sole change of personnel on the bench as he replaces injured Toulouse star Frederic Michalak.

606: DEBATE I honestly don't believe he is unreplaceable. The French seem to have a conveyor belt of top notch scrum-halves Big Geordie Falcon

Michalak tore cruciate ligaments playing for his club at the weekend and could be sidelined for a year.

Castres wing Andreu, 24, will start a Test for the first time, having won his first cap three minutes from the end of the win over Wales a fortnight ago.

"We wanted to see more of Marc Andreu than just the three minutes he played at Cardiff," said Lievremont.

"He is having an excellent season at Castres, and it is the ideal occasion to throw him onto the big stage."

Perpignan star Marty, who has 28 caps, gets his first start of the tournament having appeared three times as a replacement.

Coach Marc Lievremont retains the same pack that started against the Welsh, once again preferring Julien Pierre to Sebastien Chabal in the second row.

"There will be changes in the scrum for the second half," said Lievremont.

We know that Italy will pose us serious problems in the area of winning the ball in the scrum France coach Marc Lievremont

"But we have retained the same group up front because we know that Italy will pose us serious problems in the area of winning the ball in the scrum."

Italy's selection, meanwhile, means half-back pairing Tito Tebaldi and Craig Gower will earn their 10th caps with Pablo Canavosio, who scored the only try in their win over Scotland last time out, and Riccardo Bocchino again providing cover from the bench.

"It is great (that they have reached 10 caps), but it is not just about these two," said coach Nick Mallett. "You saw what Pablo could do coming off the bench. Plus there is Riccardo, who is always ready to come on. So we have much more depth than before."

In a match of landmarks, Mirco Bergamasco will make his 70th appearance, Andrea Masi his 50th, and Salvatore Perugini - yet to score a point in international rugby - also his 70th.

France: C Poitrenaud; M Andreu, D Marty, Y Jauzion, A Palisson; F Trinh-Duc, M Parra; T Domingo, W Servat, N Mas, L Nallet, J Pierre, T Dusautoir (captain), J Bonnaire, I Harinordoquy.
Replacements: D Szarzewski, J-B Poux, S Chabal, A Lapandry, D Yachvili, M Bastareaud, J Malzieu.

Italy: L McLean, A Masi, G Canale, G Garcia, Mirco Bergamasco, C Gower, T Tebaldi; S Perugini, L Ghiraldini (captain), M Castrogiovanni, Q Geldenhuys, M Bortolami, J Sole, Mauro Bergamasco, A Zanni.
Replacements: F Ongaro, M Aguero, C Del Fava, P Derbyshire, P Canavosio, R Bocchino, K Robertson.

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