France have named Toulouse hooker William Servat in their starting Rugby World Cup line up against Japan in North Harbour even though he has not played since June the 4th.

The 32-year-old has been out of action since Toulouse’s French victory over Montpellier in the Top 14 final after suffering a knee injury, but France coach Marc Lievremont has opted to give him a starting role.

Lievremont – who steps down after the tournament – also named prop Fabien Barcella and veteran centre Aurelien Rougerie in the team, despite both having just returned to action following months out through injury.

Barcella played in the warm-up victory over Ireland on August 20 after a year out with an Achilles tendon problem, while Rougerie also returned in that match having been out for three months with a broken bone in his ankle.

The 30-year-old – competing in his third World Cup – will be partnered by former rugby league star Fabrice Estebanez in the centres while Lievremont has preferred another veteran in Dimitri Yachvili at scrum-half to Rougerie’s Clermont team-mate Morgan Parra.

Yachvili’s inexperienced Biarritz clubmate Raphael Lakafia will win his second cap in the backrow alongside hardened veteran and another clubmate Imanol Harinordoquy.

After Japan, France – who have twice been finalists with Lievremont playing in the 1999 loss to Australia – play Canada on September 18 in Napier, then the likely-table topping decider against hosts the All Blacks on September 24 in Auckland and wind up the group games against Tonga on October 1 in Wellington.

France

(15-1)Cedric Heymans (Toulouse); Vincent Clerc (Toulouse), Aurelien Rougerie (Clermont), Fabrice Estebanez (Racing-Metro), Maxime Medard (Toulouse); Francois Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), Dimitri Yachvili (Biarritz); Imanol Harinordoquy (Biarritz), Raphael Lakafia (Biarritz), Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse, capt); Lionel Nallet (Racing-Metro), Pierre (Clermont); Nicolas Mas (Perpignan), William Servat (Toulouse), Fabien Barcella (Biarritz)

Replacements: Dimitri Szarzewski (Stade Francais), Jean-Baptiste Poux (Toulouse), Pascal Pape (Stade Francais), Julien Bonnaire (Clermont), Morgan Parra (Clermont), David Skrela (Toulouse), David Marty (Perpignan)