Hosts France rest key players for Uruguay clash after victory over All Blacks

Les Bleus opened the tournament with a rip-roaring victory over three-time winners New Zealand last week, and are now favourites to secure a quarter-final berth by topping Pool A.

Uruguay, who start their World Cup campaign in Lille this week, finished bottom of their pool in 2019 but Galthié saw positives in their performances in Japan.

"They beat Fiji. Against Australia it was a respectable score," Galthié told reporters this week, referring to Uruguay’s historic victory over the Pacific islanders four years ago.

Los Teros, as Uruguay are known, scored a try in all four pool games in Japan. They have 11 survivors from 2019 in the starting 15 for their opening match on Thursday.

"They have big hearts,” Galthié added. "They are a team with a lot of energy and aggression.”

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The French coach has kept just three players from the All Blacks victory having chosen to rest the likes of No.8 Gregory Alldritt, centre Gael Fickou, flanker Charles Ollivon as well as captain and scrum-half Antoine Dupont.

The former Test scrum-half is also without hooker Julien Marchand due to a hamstring issue suffered in last week's win, a result that lifted expectations of a first Webb Ellis trophy success even further among the home support.

In skipper Dupont's place is his former room-mate and No.8 Anthony Jelonch, who has made a miraculous comeback since rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in February.

"I worked really hard to give myself the chance to be back," Jelonch said. "To be back for this World Cup as captain is a huge moment of pride for me.”

On the right wing for Galthié's side will be Bordeaux-Begles' Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who