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PARIS : France warmed up for their year-ending clash with New Zealand by cantering to a comfortable 43-5 win over Samoa in their second autumn Test match at the Stade de France here on Saturday.
France beat world champions South Africa 20-13 in Toulouse last week and will go into their match with the All Blacks in Marseille on November 28 in good heart after a ruthless performance in which they ran in seven tries.
Coach Marc Lievremont made no less than 12 changes to the side that beat South Africa, with Thierry Dusautoir, Vincent Clerc and Maxime Medard the only players to retain their places in the starting XV.
The tourists, meanwhile, brought five players into the team that started their 17-13 defeat to Wales.
The Stade de France turf still carried the pitch markings from the French football team's controversial World Cup play-off victory over Ireland on Wednesday, but all thoughts of Thierry Henry's handball vanished as France made a scorching start.
The hosts were immediately on the front foot and the Samoan defence was breached within three minutes when hooker Dimitri Szarzewski took the ball from the base of a ruck before exploiting a huge gap to score the first try.
Morgan Parra converted from right in front of the posts and with just seven minutes gone it was 14-0, Clerc running onto Medard's scuttling kick to touch down and Parra sweeping over the conversion from wide on the left.
The home side, clad in white rather than their trademark blue to avoid a clash with the visitors, scored their third try when Francois Trinh-Duc's lofted kick found Yannick Jauzion, with Parra duly converting.
Lolo Lui twice spurned the opportunity to put Samoa on the scoreboard when he missed with successive penalties before Fa'atonu Fili shanked an embarrassing penalty attempt yards wide.
The hosts extended their lead when the video official adjudged that Dusautoir had grounded the ball after the pack surged over the Samoan try-line from a line-out and Parra again made no mistake with the conversion.
Debutant Bayonne wing Benjamin Fall then slid in to notch France's fifth try and put Lievremont's men 33-0 up at the break.
France took their foot off the pedal in the second half but Trinh-Duc went over twice to stretch their advantage before Iosefa Tekori, who plays his club rugby for French side Castres, touched down for a consolation try.
- AFP /ls
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