Former captain Thierry Dusautoir has been named in the France starting line-up for the time since last March ahead of their clash with Italy on Sunday.
The Toulouse flanker missed the autumn internationals with a serious knee injury sustained in the Heineken Cup round One in Treviso while he was rested for the summer tour of Argentina in June.
As a result, he lost the captaincy pass to Stade Francais lock and former captain himself Pascal Pape but now fully-fit he has earned a recall to the side to the expense of Toulouse teammate Yannick Nyanga who had been in impressive form in November.
Fulgence Ouedrago shifts from openside to blindside to accommodate him while Castres loose head Yannick Forrestier and Racing Metro Dimitri Szarzewski are also recalled up front.
But the biggest call from Philippe Saint-Andre is at scrum-half though with Racing’s Maxime Machenaud getting the nod over Clermont‘s superstar Morgan Parra.
He will be partnered a half-back by Fred Michalak whose new-found form sees him lead the French attack from No.10 once again.
Out wide, Toulouse Yoann Huget is at full-back with Racing’s Benjamin Fall and Clermont’s centre Wesley Fofana on the wings.
On the bench, Toulon powerhouse Matthieu Bastareaud will be keen to show his worth after months of hard work to get himself into shape.
Treviso scrum-half Tobias Botes starts at scrum-half for Italy while teammate Luke Mclean has been brought in on the left wing.
McLean starts out wide in the place of the injured Mirco Bergamasco. Botes is given the nod ahead of Edoardo Gori, who must settle for a place on the bench.
Head coach and former France assistant coach Jacques Brunel also includes young sensation Tommaso Benvenutti who scored a stunning try against Toulouse in recent weeks with veteran Gonzalo Canale on the bench.
Wasp centre Andrea Masi starts at full-back, a position which saw him earn the Player of the tournament award two years ago.
In the back row, Simone Favaro starts on the flank in the place of Robert Barbieri while Alessandro Zanni plays his 45th consecutive Test for ‘la Squadra Azzurra’.
Italy: Andrea Masi; Giovambattista Venditti, Tommaso Benvenuti, Alberto Sgarbi, Luke McLean; Luciano Orquera, Tobias Botes; Andrea Lo Cicero, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Martin Castrogiovanni; Quintin Geldenhuys, Francesco Minto; Alessandro Zanni, Simone Favaro, Sergio Parisse (Capt.).
Replacements: Davide Giazzon, Alberto De Marchi , Lorenzo Cittadini, Antonio Pavanello, Paul Derbyshire, Edoardo Gori, Kristopher Burton, Gonzalo Canale.
France: Yoann Huget; Wesley Fofana, Florian Fritz, Maxime Mermoz, Benjamin Fall; Frederic Michalak, Maxime Machenaud; Yannick Forestier, Dimitri Szarzewski, Nicolas Mas, Pascal Pape (captain), Yoann Maestri, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Thierry Dusautoir, Louis Picamoles.
Replacements: Benjamin Kayser, Vincent Debaty, Luc Ducalcon, Romain Taofifenua, Damien Chouly, Morgan Parra, François Trinh-Duc, Mathieu Bastareaud.