France coach Fabien Galthie has swung the selection axe after his side’s Six Nations defeat to England with wing Damian Penaud and fly half Matthieu Jalibert omitted for the encounter with Italy.
The pair are among those to pay the price for an error-ridden performance at Twickenham that saw France’s hopes of a grand slam go up in smoke.
Thomas Ramos moves forward from full-back to partner Antoine Dupont in the halves with Toulouse teammate Romain Ntamack still suspended, while Leo Barre and Theo Attissogbe come into the back three.
Up front, Mickael Guillard is promoted in the second row with Emmanuel Meafou dealing with illness. Thibaud Flament is his partner after recovering from injury.
There is a radical selection on the bench, too, as Galthie opts for a Springbok-style seven forwards to one back bench split. Scrum half Maxime Lucu is the sole backline cover among the replacements.
South Africa boss Rassie Erasmus unveiled the tactic ahead of the 2023 World Cup and used the strategy in the final against New Zealand. France have backed the versatility of players like Dupont, Ramos and Yoram Moefana to provide enough options should injury strike, with flanker Paul Boudehent also sometimes used as centre cover.
"It's tactical and linked to a very special opponent," Galthie said of the tactic. "We decided to try a strategy to be ready in the key sectors in which Italy are extremely good."
France face Ireland in round four and will hope to keep their championship hopes alive in Rome on Sunday.
The hosts, meanwhile, make two changes to the team that beat Wales. Simone Gesi replaces an injured Monty Ioane on the wing and Gianmarco Lucchesi swaps in at hooker for Giacomo Nicotera, who drops to the bench.
The bench includes six forwards but not Harlequins lock Dino Lamb, who is ruled out with a shoulder issue.
Italy XV to face France in Rome (Sunday 23 February, 3pm GMT): 1 Danilo Fischetti, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 3 Simone Ferrari; 4 Niccolo Cannone, 5 Federico Ruzza; 6 Sebastian Negri, 7 Michele Lamaro (capt.), 8 Lorenzo Cannone; 9 Martin Page-Relo, 10 Paolo Garbisi; 11 Simone Gesi, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 14 Ange Capuozzo; 15 Tommaso Allan.
Replacements: 16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Giosue Zilocchi, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Ross Vintcent; 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Jacopo Trulla.
France XV: 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 3 Uini Atonio; 4 Thibaud Flament, 5 Mickael Guillard; 6 Francois Cros, 7 Paul Boudehent, 8 Gregory Alldritt; 9 Antoine Dupont, 10 Thomas Ramos; 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 12 Yoram Moefana, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 14 Theo Attissogbe; 15 Leo Barre.
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyrill Baille, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Alexandre Roumat, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Anthony Jelonch; 23 Maxime Lucu.
