KEY POINTS:
There can be no greater sign of the new direction in which France are heading than two names from Montpellier and a quote from the new coach.
The names are the flanker Fulgence Ouedraogo, from Burkina Faso, and first five-eighths Francois Trinh-Duc - perhaps the first player of
Vietnamese extraction to play at this level when he starts for France against Scotland in their opening Six Nations match tonight.
The quote from new coach Marc Lievremont was enough to underline that the old, conventional, safety-first, tactics of Bernard Laporte have gone.
"We want to put into action a game deliberately expansive and even excessive," Lievremont said - farewelling the territory-based, forward-oriented game that was good enough for the All Blacks at the World Cup but which foundered against England in the semifinal.
That was the problem with Laporte's France, really. They tried to be a blue-shirted England but it all came unstuck when they struck an English team who did being England better.
Retirements and an eye for the future mean that Lievremont has only 11 of Laporte's World Cup warriors.
Ouedraogo and Trinh-Duc are flag carriers for the new way. Ouedraogo is just 21, and has one French cap - gained in Wellington last June when he came off the bench with 26 minutes to go in the 61-10 hiding by the All Blacks against a French team very different to that in the World Cup quarter-final.
But Ouedraogo, 1.90m and 94kg and who plays on either side of the scrum, is a cult figure in Burkina Faso. He was born in Ougadougou, the capital of the West African country hit by four coups in the past 40 years. Millions of his countrymen live in other countries and send home millions of dollars a year, helping to keep their homeland financially afloat.
Ouedraogo, who left when he was three for a home in France, is a poster boy for this practice and has attained hero status as a role model for expats who make good. Although little is understood in Burkina Faso about rugby, his career is being followed closely - and he has helped to set up a rugby federation there.
"I'm ready to share my experience to help develop the sport. I haven't forgotten where I come from and who I am.
"It's good to see more black players emerging, especially among the youngsters," he said. "In the future, rugby will become increasingly representative of the diversity of the French population."
Known as "Fufu" to his team-mates, Ouedraogo was introduced to the game as a six-year-old and developed quickly as a hunter-gatherer flanker; joining Montpellier at 17 and winning a place in the French under-21 team which claimed the world title two years ago.
That side - Trinh-Duc also played - was coached by Emile N'Tamack and Didier Retiere, both of whom have been promoted to the top team to assist Lievremont.
"Their methods were very different to what I was used to at my club," said Ouedraogo. "They focused on movement, on the mobility of players and on always having support."
Pointing to the maturity the two coaches helped foster, he added: "We worked on the basics of two or three moves at the most. Then they asked us to take charge. Everything they did was designed to make the players take responsibility and to have initiative. And to be honest, we just had great fun on the pitch."
He will need that maturity and familiarity with responsbility. Missing from the ranks this time are respected loose forwards such as Imanol Harinordoquy, Remy Martin and Yannick Nyanga - although the tough-tackling star of the World Cup, Thierry Dusautoir, will also start against Scotland tonight.
Ouedraogo is quick around the ground, a good lineout jumper and has the best tackle rate of any player at Montpellier this season.
He expects his role tonight to be similar to what he was asked to do in last year's Under-21 Six Nations. He captained the French side to a string of outstanding performances, including a 56-10 win over Scotland who, admittedly, had selected players a year younger than their opponents.
"Emile and Didier asked me to act as the link between the forwards and backs. I therefore had to be there in support as much as possible."
Perhaps an even heavier load will be borne by 21-year-old Trinh-Duc, whose paternal grandfather was a native of another former French colony, Vietnam.
Trinh-Duc and Ouedraogo played key roles in staving off relegation for Montpellier last season but there is no doubt the young first five-eighths has been selected for his running ability, as well as for an improved kicking game.
"The coach wants us to play a less stereotyped game, a wide game with a lot of initiative. I like that. I'll try to follow my instinct and to play in tune," the uncapped first-five added.
He is a regular at Montpellier and has led the club to fifth place in the 14-team first division but he has only played 16 games at the top.
His rise has led some commentators to hail him as "the new Frederic Michalak" but Trinh-Duc does not like that comparison.
"I've kept a close watch on Michalak's career. He is a great player but people praised him to the skies and then destroyed him. I know I'll have to be careful and I hope I'll be able to make a name for myself without being compared to older players."
Michalak is one of the many famous names of French rugby not around this year. He is playing in South Africa and, while a return to French rugby may be on the cards, it is a moot point whether 'Freddie' will ever get back in national colours.
Also gone for this year's Six Nations are Sebastien Chabal (not selected) while other available World Cup squad members left out are forwards Sebastien Bruno, Jerome Thion, Harinordoquy, Martin and Nicolas Mas, and backs Lionel Beauxis, Clement Poitrenaud, Pierre Mignoni and David Marty.
Props Sylvain Marconnet, Pieter de Villiers and Olivier Milloud and centre Yannick Jauzion are injured and Raphael Ibanez, Fabien Pelous, Christophe Dominici and Serge Betsen recently retired from internationals.
Meanwhile, Scotland have named Edinburgh star Nick de Luca at centre after the surprise omission of Scotland goalkicker Chris Paterson.
France: Cedric Heymans, Vincent Clerc, David Marty, Damien Traille, Julien Malzieu, Francois Trinh-Duc, Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, Elvis Vermeulen, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Thierry Dusautoir, Lionel Nallet (capt), Loic Jacquet, Julien Brugnaut, William Servat, Lionel Faure.
Replacements: Dimitri Szarzewski, Nicolas Mas, Arnaud Mela, Julien Bonnaire, Morgan Parra, David Skrela, Aurelien Rougerie.
Scotland: Rory Lamont, Nikki Walker, Nick De Luca, Andrew Henderson, Simon Webster, Dan Parks, Mike Blair, John Barclay, Dave Callam, Jason White(captain), Jim Hamilton, Nathan Hines, Euan Murray, Ross Ford, Allan Jacobsen.
