RUGBY:The initial silence in the auditorium at the National Centre de Rugby in Marcoussis gave way to a gradually increasing din as French team manager Jo Maso offered a whistle-stop verbal tour of the France team to take on Ireland in Pool D at the Stade de France tomorrow night.

He'd barely enunciated the last name in the replacements when the questions descended from all directions. French coach Bernard Laporte may have opted for only four alterations from the team that started against Namibia but there was plenty of meat on the bones of this particular selection.

Sebastien Chabal's presence in the starting XV, named in the secondrow - his primary rugby education would be in the backrow - alongside the returning Jerome Thion, prompted the first flurry of inquiries.

Laporte spoke about "form" before highlighting the qualities that the Sale player brings to the team. "We choose Chabal because of his performances not because of the marketing factor. If Sebastien is at the top of the bill it's because he is performing well on the pitch, because of his speed, his spring and his fiery power and because he brings enthusiasm, dynamism and confidence to the team."

The expectation among the French media, gleaned no doubt from management sources, is that Chabal will play for about an hour before giving way to Lionel Nallet, who scored two tries against the Namibians.

The four changes see Bourgoin prop Olivier Milloud return to the frontrow in place of Jean-Baptiste Poux, who drops to the bench, with captain Raphael Ibanez named at hooker having recovered from a throat injury sustained when coming on as a replacement the last day. He swaps places with Dimtri Szarwezski.

Thion is preferred to Nallet, while Biarritz Olympique flanker Serge Betsen takes over from Yannick Nyanga, who like Nallet drops to the bench. The back line is retained en masse and that means there is no place for Yannick Jauzion who started against Argentina but only came on as a replacement in the game against Namibia.

The inclusion of lavishly gifted Thierry Dusautoir reinforces the supposition that current form has been central to the selection for this World Cup match. The Toulouse flanker wasn't an original choice for the 30-man French squad, only joining the party following an injury to Elvis Vermeulen, but as Laporte said, "he has been knocking on the door for a starting place".

Le Professeur, as the French coach is known, although his relationship with the French media is a great deal less harmonious these days, has opted for the centre combination of Biarritz's Damien Traille and David Marty of Perpignan. The latter formed a midfield partnership with Jauzion against Ireland in the Six Nations Championship match at Croke Park earlier this year.

The Toulouse centre's omission follows consultation with the team's physical trainers who feel that the Toulouse centre is "30 to 35 per cent" behind where he needs to be in terms of conditioning. Basically it's been decided he's not fit enough to fulfil his obvious ability. Laporte pointed out: "It's because he's not playing as well as the others; it's as simple as that. He's not the Yannick that we know, one on top form."

The player's travails stem from last August where he missed a couple of weeks of pre-season training because of personal problems and then suffered a back strain that kept him out of France's pre-World Cup clash with England at Twickenham. The prognosis according to the team management is that a 30-minute cameo is well within his compass.

It was Jauzion's pass that was intercepted for Namibia's sole try the last day, although his deputy tomorrow night David Marty, while running powerfully to create a couple of opportunities for others, dropped a few facile passes under minimal pressure.

Maso defended the player highlighting the positive contribution he made against the African team and the "natural balance" it brings to the team's midfield. Even though Jauzion and Traille have been used in tandem many times, both are essentially inside centres while Marty is more naturally adept in the outside role.

Laporte's mantra of choosing the players in form is reflected in his decision to name a Toulouse back three of Clement Poitrenaud, Cedric Heymans and Vincent Clerc, particularly in the case of the two wings.

Aurelien Rougerie, who started against Argentina but was a replacement for the Namibian match, must content himself with a place on the bench.

Clerc, having confirmed France's triumph at Croke Park with his last-minute try, helped himself to a hat-trick in Toulouse; his sharpness and finishing prowess holding sway. Laporte decided to lighten the moment when asked whether the Toulouse winger's try that day earned him his place tomorrow night. "Of course not, that was six months ago. In that case we would play (Serge) Blanco because of the winning try he scored in (the World Cup semi-final) in 1987."

It epitomised the relaxed air of the French management, confident they have chosen a group of players in form and in possession of a strong bench. The traditional, if brief, verbal platitudes were offered towards Ireland at the conference: strong team, proud, good players. It's hard to escape the supposition that France expect no nasty surprises in Saint Denis tomorrow night.